Month: September 2014

What Can I Give?

/ Lee Reynolds

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”~Mother Teresa~

If we REALLY believe we are ALL connected on this earth and ripples of kindness can touch the WHOLE world, then what is stopping us from giving even a little each day.

The other day when I was at our Super Store shopping, ALL by myself, a very rare occasion since Will was enjoying his first full day of kindergarten and the little girls were at preschool, I had an opportunity to help another person.

Our grocery store offers a weekly free product if you buy over a certain amount of groceries. This was not a big shop week for me but in front of me was a man about my age with a little toddler in his cart and a TON of groceries. I knew from experience that he was going to be WAY over the minimum amount for his free item but I didn’t see the said item at the end of the conveyor belt.

The cashiers are told NOT to offer the free item unless the customer requests it, which kind of irks me, so when the cashier told him the total amount and the man was about to pay for his groceries, I piped up, “what’s the free item this week if you spend over $250.00 dollars? The man looked at me and then the cashier, who looked sheepish and said, “oh, it’s the FINISH dish washing detergent,” but you have to have the item so I can run the code through.

The man shifted, looked at his toddler in the cart and I jumped in saying, “I’ll go get it for you while you load your cart.” I flew off in a flash, forgetting  since the twins were born that occasionally when I run, I sometimes have bladder issues. Thank heavens though, this time there was no unfortunate incidence…maybe doing a good deed helps the bladder. Anyway, I got back in no time and gave the product to the cashier who thanked me actually really nicely. The man thanked me NOT once but several times and I told him that, “hey, I’m a mom and you can’t just leave your little one in the cart to run and get the free item.”

As he was paying for his groceries and continuing to load his cart, he opened right up to me telling me he had just come home after being up north working for two weeks and they had nothing in the house. He said they probably could use the dish washing detergent and he hadn’t even checked when he left the house. He further told me that he had 5 children and the little guy in the cart, his youngest, was stuck to him at the hip since he had arrived home. I had made a friend. It made me feel really great.

And that wasn’t all, the older couple behind me were beaming at me when I returned with the item and the older man leaned in to me as I was paying for my groceries and said, “that was really nice of you.”

NOW, I’m not trying to blow my own horn or anything but this incident just demonstrates how something so simple, as helping another person out really is, plus, I benefited, as I got a bit more exercise than I had planned. It was a WIN/WIN. We are all busy and get involved with our own dramas but if we can just take a moment to look into the next person’s eyes and realize they are US. If we can offer them something to make their day easier, even if it’s a smile or a compliment, (like the one the older gentleman gave ME) well don’t you think at the end of the day the WHOLE WORLD would run smoother.

JUST THINK ABOUT IT!

And check out this video if you want to be inspired further. (If you are using an Apple product, you may not be able to view this YouTube video below, and if so, you can click on this link to see this inspiring message.)

Let’s send a ripple of small things with great love into the world.

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

Caesar Salad and Living Fully

/ Lee Reynolds

What does a Caesar salad and living fully, have in common? Very little, unless you look at it from my perspective. A few events and experiences in the last week have inspired this blog post and finally this morning everything is formulating clearly in my mind.

If you aren’t interested in the connection, then scroll down to find my easy and delicious Caesar salad recipe. If you have a cup of tea nearby AND the time to immerse yourself in one of my novellas, then I invite you to read on.

Our oldest son “Clark,” which interestingly enough is old English and means scholar, likes to watch our National news whenever he emerges from his room. We usually only see Clark at meal time and on the rare occasion he wishes to be with his family, which is usually only at mealtime. Now, I don’t want to give you the idea that Clark is anti social or anti- family. Far from it. After all he chose to stay home and attend our local University, even though he had been accepted at an excellent University a distance from our home.

Clark brought home dry ice from his day at the science centre

He can be quite an extrovert. He can talk to anyone about anything, anytime of the day.  For only being 21 he is quite accomplished, having achieved his second Dan black belt in Tae Kwon Do, became an accredited lifeguard, as well as excelling in playing violin and sax in our local youth symphony and jazz band. When he isn’t studying Science at University, you can find him in our local gym lifting weights, creating music and playing games with friends or working at the Science Centre. He is known as the Science guy in the birthday party set, as he can make a mean cup of flubber and give you a wild ride on the gyro chair. When he does come home, he is pleasant, regales us with a few interesting tidbits from his day and then he heads to his room to recharge. I also think he squeezes out his sponge, so when he re-emerges he is capable of absorbing more knowledge.

When he does make that entrance, it usually coincides with opening the fridge and turning on the T.V. to our news station. I suppose this is one of his many sources for knowledge but personally, I find the news too disturbing. Terrorism, countries fighting and killing their neighbours, and even our  own federal government politicians squabbling like little children. It all seems to unnerve me and put a damper on my daily enthusiasm.

Clark appears to be unmoved by the events transpiring all over the world. He is able to watch with detachment but with interest as he forms his own ideas about the world he lives in and perhaps too, how he would like to help it evolve. His is the next generation to create change and if Clark is any indicator of how they will manage, it will certainly be with conscious intent. He lives fully in the moment and makes wherever he is a better place.

Another source of news comes from our local paper. The “Morning Star.” It brings a piece of community into our homes and reminds us how closely we are all connected. Even though it’s only a few dozen pages in length, at most, I usually don’t have much time for this, published three times a week paper. Thankfully, while the little girls played, I took the time last Wednesday to flip through the pages as I would have missed out on something that has impacted me. Maybe this is how Clark views his obsession of watching the global news.

When I turned to the obituary section, I got hit in the gut with shock and sadness over seeing a friend’s picture. I say friend, because whenever I saw ” Erin,” I always felt good. She was the best sort of friend. One who always makes you feel happy that you ran into her. I met her for the first time when her oldest child was in preschool with my 3rd oldest, Mitchell. She had a lovely laid back attitude and a quick, light laugh that filled the air with joy. I loved that she didn’t bat an eye when her little daughter wore a tiara to preschool every single day throughout the year. I used to be more controlling and would have encouraged our child to leave the head piece at home, so when I asked her about it she said, something like, “well I’m going to let her be a princess for as long as she wants.” I LOVED that about her. I aspire to be more like that.

Over the years, I would bump into Erin at our local music school, where we would discuss the benefits of music lessons and how to encourage practice without pushing our children. Then there were the times I saw her at soccer games, me yelling my head off but her with a relaxed, “whatever” attitude. She was always interested in our ever growing family and would always say, “I don’t know how you do it!” Which made me feel stronger somehow and even though things may have been difficult the morning I saw her, after her comment, I would dig deeper and find the best of myself to mother our brood.

I haven’t seen her in a number of years as although our children attended the same high school, once children become teens they aren’t always accompanied by their parents. It wasn’t until I was helping out at the grad decorating afternoon last June when I heard someone say, “did you hear about Erin?” And I said, “no, what are you talking about?” Over the years I have been so absorbed raising our family and have not kept my ear to the community gossip. I had heard our family was often the subject, with our larger size and us having children well into our 40’s. I preferred to distance myself from people who were in the “know.” But this had put me at a disadvantage as well, since I wasn’t aware when someone was having a hard time.

I had no idea she had been battling brain cancer and was in the final days of her fight. Throughout Mitchell’s graduation weekend, I kept thinking about Erin, her two children, her family and how they were doing. It impacted me. D said he saw her not looking so great at the grad picture gathering but I had missed her. Mitchell too had been affected by this news. He knew all about it of course because of social media/Facebook, but he hadn’t ever said anything to me until I asked him about it. I know he was thinking in his teen terms something to the effect,”by the grace of God go I,” in that his mother was physically well and his classmate, he had known since preschool, was losing her’s.

Over the summer, I was on my guard every time I opened the paper wondering if this would be the day I would hear about Erin leaving the earth. The summer came and went and she presumably fought on. Then on September 18th, as we had just heard  the teacher’s strike was over and our kids were going back to school, she lost her fight. She was going home. I was so sad when I saw her face on the obituary page. She shouldn’t be there. Heck, we are almost the same age. Her youngest still hasn’t even graduated from high school. Do you ever wonder about life? How things don’t seem fair. Beautiful, kind, generous people, leaving the world while evil persists in all sorts of individuals.

Of course if you have read my blog, you know about my husbands co- worker, whose young teen son was killed in a boating accident this past June. And then, our oldest daughter’s high school friend dying in May, from complications after a double lung transplant. She had fought CF with hope and optimism her whole life and would have turned 24 last June.

While all these events touched me, I was thinking, the one thing we have in common is that we are ALL going to die.  This used to be a joke in my husband’s family since his Dad sold cemetary property and planned funerals. He used to say, “none of us get out of here alive.” The other thing we have in common is we have a choice how we are going to live?

My 11 year old daughter Grace had a sleepover on Friday night. Early in the week she had come home from her first days at school a bit depressed since her good friend had moved to Alberta. When I suggested a back to school sleepover party on Friday night she perked right up. I knew she was excited about it because when I went into her room to collect the garbage from her wicker basket under her desk, I saw a piece of paper outlining fun ideas for her party. “Dinner, 2 hours at our local rec centre pool, movie/popcorn, games”…it just made me smile.

As I was thinking about my friend Erin letting her little girl be a princess when she was small, I thought about my Grace and how I wanted her to enjoy her princess years too. She is going to be leaving childhood pretty soon and becoming a teen and I wanted her to have some wonderful memories of this special time.

I decided to make a homemade pizza, which is often our Friday night dinner anyway, and also make a caesar salad which is Grace’s all time favourite. When I was at the grocery store though I forgot to pick up the dressing we usually purchase. The old me, would have called D to bring some home after work (using more gas to drive to the store) but the new me, trying to be frugal while being more sustainable, with a can do attitude, decided to make it from scratch. I Googled a bunch of recipes and came up with a creation for our evening’s salad. It absolutely amazes me how empowered I feel when I don’t need a product….cross out caesar dressing off my grocery list. I can now make it from SCRATCH.  I know weird but I get a great sense of satisfaction from little things in life, like THAT.

Grace and her friends, I was admiring all the girl’s long hair and of course, I was seeing their invisible princess tiaras too.

The pizzas turned out delicious (cheese being the top choice for the girls but wow..the vegetarian I made was superb, if I do say so myself) and the salad was sensational. I made a large bowl but every last bit of romaine was eaten. A great sign of success! Especially among tweens, who don’t always like their veggies. The sleepover was smashing too. The girls liked the dinner, the pool time, the movies, the popcorn/licorice. In morning, D got up early on Saturday to make them pancakes with fruit, syrup and whipped cream and I made them a fruit smoothie. One of the girls had to get up early to go to her gymnastics class and then she said her family were off for an afternoon hike at a mountain about a 2 hour drive from our hometown. This family is always living life with “gusto.” They always are doing something physically challenging.

The celebration of life service for my friend was later that afternoon. I didn’t attend. I thought about it but then felt a better place for me to remember her was in my garden. So while D puttered around the garage, I mowed the lawn, cultivated around my still growing herbs and turned the contents in our compost bin. Once living grass, leaves, vegetable and fruit peelings are now rich, dark fertile dirt. Full of potential for new living things to grow in next spring.

We all are going to die but we also have a choice how we are going to live.What things can we grow in our fertile lives. What do we want to create,  how we can be a service to those around us, how we can help those who are struggling all around the world. It’s a reality check that brings me daily back to how I want to live fully.

A while ago, I did a meditation challenge with Dr. Deepak Chopra and I wrote down something on his web site that touched me.

“Today, and everyday, I give that which I want to receive.” I nourish the Universe and the Universe nourishes me.”

Yes, sometimes it’s just about making a great ceasar salad and letting my daughter be a princess for a bit longer but mostly it’s living life with gusto. Giving all of me to the world. I have a lovely quote on a book mark I use for my soul filled books and as I absorb new ideas and thoughts, I close my book on this idea;

“If there is light in the soul…..there will be peace in the world.” ~Chinese proverb~

Today, what I can share with the world is my caesar salad recipe and my light.

Buddha said~”Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”



Today, I’m thinking of Erin. All the kind, encouraging things she said to me and all the laughs she shared with me. All the light she brought to the world. I hope she is at peace.

“Precious Lord, take my hand.
Lead me on. Let me stand.
I am tired. I am weak. I am worn.
Through the storm,
Through the night,
Lead me on to the light.
Take my hand, precious Lord
and lead me home.”

~African-American Spiritual~

Please join me in lighting the world and living fully while we are here, for my friend Erin, for all the people struggling, and for the people whom you have loved and hold close to your heart.

.

AND now, finally here is my caesar salad recipe…..for after all, we have to eat too. This is part of living life with gusto, my dear Italian friend Jane would wholeheartedly agree!

Here’s are the main ingredients you will need

You will also need croutons, bacon bits,

Grace’s Caesar Salad 

Ingredients

1 head of romaine lettuce
1 cup of homemade croutons
1/8 cup bacon bits (you can purchase vegan bacon bits too)
2 cups of croutons (easy to make)
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese


Dressing:
1/4 cup vegetable_oil
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp white_wine_vinegar
2 tsp Dijon_mustard or 2 tsp of dried mustard
2 tsp  anchovy_paste (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1/2 tsp Worcestershire_sauce
3 tbsp light mayonnaise 

Preparation

1. Dressing: In bowl, whisk together oil, cheese, vinegar, mustard, anchovy paste, garlic, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk in mayonnaise until smooth.

 

 

 

 2. Tear lettuce into bite-size pieces to make about 20 cups (5 L); place in large bowl. Add dressing, croutons, bacon bits and cheese; toss to combine.

 

And here is our Friday night, sleepover dinner. A dinner fit for princesses!

 

 

We loved this so much, that I made a lentil soup on Saturday night and ANOTHER caesar salad, this time, adding roasted chicken pieces to the salad. It was sooo yummy, and hopefully it will go down as one of Grace’s childhood favourites.
As for me, “I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.”

~John Burroughs~And all the blog posts I want to write. Thanks dear family and friends for sharing in my life, reading my novellas and lighting the world with your love.


Live life with your heart wide open

 
Until we meet again, may you be well, peaceful and happy.Blessings from Hope

      Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup

      / Lee Reynolds

      Tis the season. Soup season that is. Nothing says home, more than coming in the house after a long day to smell a delicious aroma drifting from the kitchen. Knowing it’s healthy and satisfying makes it our family’s fall comfort food. After a season of raw vegetables, salads and fruits, it’s like putting on a wool sweater to warm your body.


      I was inspired to make this soup when Harrison woke up feeling under the weather. He had had his braces tightened, was feeling headachy and on top of that, felt like a cold was on his doorstep. I knew I had to make something easy to chew and filling. I went out into the garden to be inspired and when I saw the butternut squash, gleaming in the sun amongst the dying vines, I thought PERFECT!

       

      (I planted 6 butternut squash plants in an area that wasn’t ideal. I had pulled up yucca plants from this area and I didn’t get all the roots up so I had little yucca plants growing up all around my squash this summer….but despite the competition for water and sun, the squash prevailed. Sadly, we won’t have any to store for the winter as we LOVE squash and have eaten almost all of it. Next year, I’d like to plant twice the squash for our size family.)

       

      I probably focus on our 15 year old Harrison’s growing needs the most lately, since he literally grows a 1/8 of an inch every night. Okay, maybe that is an exaggerations. Let’s just say, his basketball coach is going to love seeing him this year! Anyway, I get worried when his braces are tightened as his food consumption drops a lot.

      Then I came inside to rummaged around the pantry (noticing that many of my bottles needed to be topped up and it’s generally disorganized….another blog post for sure) and found some ginger root. I had purchased the ginger to make some tea but had forgotten all about it. Another PERFECT ingredient. I also dug some boneless chicken thighs from the freezer and although this soup is lovely with just vegetables, I find adding some pieces of chicken and broth very satisfying, especially for our son who basically lives on smoothies for days after he has his braces tightened.  If you are a vegetarian, of course please disregard the chicken aspect and use vegetable broth.

      So without further ado, let’s get cooking.

      Hope’s Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup

      Ingredients

      • 1 butternut squash (peeled, seeds removed, and cubed)
      • (note, you can use 2 butternut squash instead of the carrots
      • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
      • 4 large carrots 
      • 3 tbsp minced fresh ginger
      • 3 tsp cinnamon
      • 2 tsp nutmeg
      • Salt and pepper
      • 1 cup thinly sliced onion
      • 3 large garlic cloves
      • 1/8 cup brown sugar
      • 1 lb chicken
      • 8 cups chicken broth
      • 2 cups cooked rice (I used a Basmati because Harrison loves that…but personally I prefer a nutty brown rice
      • Chopped fresh parsley
      • Sour Cream for a topping, (opt)



      Directions:

      Put the rice on and while it’s cooking;



      Peel, the squash, remove the seeds and cube. Peel and chop the carrots. Mince the ginger, set aside 1 tbsp for later, and then crush 1 garlic clove.



      Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil on a baking sheet and add the squash, the carrots, 1 crushed garlic clove, 2 tbsp of ginger, 2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg and sprinkle with sea salt with freshly ground pepper. Coat all really well in the oil and put in the oven to roast at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

      If you are using chicken, you can cook it on a separate pan while the vegetables are roasting.

      While the vegetables are roasting, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan, add 1 cup of chopped onion, 2 of the remaining garlic cloves (minced). Cook onions and garlic until translucent. Add 1 tbsp of minced ginger, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg and 1/8 of a cup of brown sugar. Cook until carmelized. 



      Transfer the onion mixture to a soup pot, add the chicken and cook well until both are sizzling, add the chicken broth at this point. Bring to a boil, then add the rice and the roasted vegetables.


      Add the chicken to the onions
      Add 8 cups of chicken broth…less if you want to puree it
      Add your roasted veggies and your rice




      The magic in this soup is layering all the seasonings, otherwise it will be bland. Finally, if you aren’t using chicken, if you wish, you can puree the soup in your food processor. I wanted our soup to have soft chunks for a filling main dinner soup. It would make a delightful fall soup prior to your entre. For our family, soup, salad, a rosemary dinner bun and old fashion rice pudding for dessert was perfect.




      Ladle your soup into a bowl, add a sprig of parsley and a dollop of sour cream which is refreshing and a nice complement to the ginger. This is a warming soup full of flavour. Enjoy!

      As if that wasn’t good enough….finish it off with some old fashion rice pudding. Oh my, talk about comfort food or WHAT!

      This was the creamiest rice pudding ever! Harrison ate his portion and before bed he sat down to finish off the rest of the casserole dish.

      I don’t know if it’s more enjoyable to eat all this wonderful homemade stuff or to hear my family’s contented sounds as they consume it.

      This to me is one of the best parts of nurturing my children. Watching them appreciate food and grow.

      If you are also interested in making the Rosemary dinner buns here is the recipe.

      Rosemary Dinner Buns

      Ingredients

      *1 tbsp white sugar
      *1 cup warm water
      *1 package active dry yeast or 1 tbsp (I buy Red Star active dry yeast from Costco )
      *1 tsp salt

      Our rosemary plant next to the Kale
      *2 tbsp softened butter
      *2 tbsp rosemary….I went to the garden and picked it fresh
      *1 tsp Italian seasoning
      *3 cups bread flour…although you can use an all purpose as well
      *1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
      *1  beaten egg (opt)
       
       

      Directions

      1. Dissolve the sugar in warm water in a medium bowl, and mix in the yeast. When yeast is bubbly, mix in salt, butter, 1 tablespoon rosemary, and Italian seasoning. Mix in 2 cups flour. Gradually add remaining flour to form a workable dough, and knead 10 to 12 minutes.
      2. Coat the inside of a large bowl with olive oil. Place dough in bowl, cover, and allow to rise 1 hour in a warm location.
      3. Punch down dough, and divide in half. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly grease paper. Shape dough into 2 round loaves, and place on the baking sheet. I like to shape my dough into balls and put on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining rosemary. Cover, and allow to rise 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
      4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
      5. Brush loaves with egg. Bake 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brow

      The Rosemary buns were such a nice flavour, next to the warming squash/ginger soup.

      Finally, if you are a lover of Rice pudding, then you have to try this recipe. I actually had Harrison make it while I was making the soup and the buns. (he wasn’t feeling that bad) We have been working in the kitchen together for years. I like to encourage all of our children to help me in the kitchen from the time they are small. We like to  make muffins, pancakes, cookies; things they are excited to eat.

      Once they are around 11 or 12, I like to get them working on main dishes and of course teach them to cook the foods they love. Harrison was more than happy to make this dessert for this meal and ended up eating the majority, which was good since he hadn’t been eating much since visiting his orthodontist the day before. This is an excellent recipe to make if you have left over rice. I just made extra rice, when I made the Butternut Squash and Ginger soup.

      Okay, get ready for comfort food extrordinaire……

      Old Fashion Rice Pudding

      * 3/4 cup uncooked white rice,
      * 2 cups milk, divided
      * 1/3 cup white sugar
      * 1/4 tsp salt
      * 1 egg beaten
      * 2/3 cup raisins
      * 1 tbsp butter
      * 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
      *  2 tsp cinnamon
      * 1 tsp nutmeg

       

      Directions

      1. Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan; stir rice into boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
      2. In a clean saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg, and raisins; cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

       

      After cooking the rice pudding on the stove top, pour it into a casserole dish, sprinkle it with cinnamon and nutmeg, put a lid on top and put it in the oven at 300 degrees for 30 minutes or until it thickens. Pour into dishes with a little piece of mint on top. It’s a wonderful finish to this evenings meal.

      We doubled the recipe for our gang but this is perfect if you have a family of 4, unless you love rice pudding. Then there is never enough!

      Put in a fancy dish, add a sprig of mint and it looks like something from a restaurant

      I hope you try this delightful trio of recipes. Thanks for coming today, it’s always a pleasure having you in our kitchen.
      Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope

      Welcome Fall

      / Lee Reynolds

      Welcome Fall! Will started his first day of kindergarten today. If you can call it that. It was more like a few moments in class, as it only lasted long enough for me to go to the grocery store for a quick shop with the little girls and to the library. He was excited all the same.

      Will on his first morning of kindergarten….so excited!

      I was going to launch right into my latest creation from our kitchen, (Butternut Squash and Ginger soup with rosemary buns and real old fashion rice pudding) but my gosh, we had some real excitement around the ‘ole homestead tonight. The kind of excitement I was anticipating should we move to the country.

      As I was cleaning up the dinner dishes and talking to our daughter Grace about her first full day (a REAL full day) at school, our doorbell rang. It was our neighbour from 2 houses over saying he had just seen a bear.

      It was a blonde bear and it had just jumped his fence with ease and was in our direct neighbour’s back yard. He thought we would want to know as he knew our little ones were in the hot tub. (another reason I want to move to the country as our kids are incredibly noisy, although our neighbours have never said anything. I can ONLY IMAGINE what they think)

       

      I digress. I told him that in all the years we have lived here, (21) we have only ever had one bear incident that didn’t end well. I had come home from a lovely fall walk with our little little boys (now big ones) and was shocked to see two men on our deck, one with a rifle. They were conservation officers. When I asked them what was up, they said our neighbour had called them. Apparently, she had seen a bear off and on in her yard for a day or two and she thought it was now in the neighbour’s yard below us. They have large apple trees and don’t pick them regularly. The officer asked me when the school bus was due and I looked at my watch and told him any moment now.

      With that information, they nodded, left our deck and walked over to the yard where they had spotted the bear. I stood on the deck with our 2 little boys, all excited about THE gun which was a big thing because the only guns we allowed in our house, were ones they made out of duplo blocks, despite the fact that their Dad used to be a champion trap and skeet shooter. Before we knew it, the conservation officers were in the next yard,  and there was a loud explosion. We saw the bear drop from the tree. At first, not knowing my guns, I thought the animal was just tranquilized but then I saw the blood, oozing from under it’s body. A moment later the school bus drove up, stopped, and the neighbourhood kids, plus our oldest two, spilled out, none the wiser.

      So that was our last experience with wildlife. Our children’s school is further out, more on our valley bottom and often there are cougar sightings and occasionally the odd bear travels through as there is a creek near the school. Nothing of any consequence though.

      Anyway, back to my story tonight.  I zoomed downstairs and told D to get out of the hot tub because of the bear sighting. As he got himself and the little kids out, he was telling me that Barbara, our direct neighbour yelled something over to him about a “bear” but he thought she was making a joke about their bare butts (the kids, not D’s) in the tub and he just laughed it off. As we quickly got the little ones into their jammies, we talked about how rare it was to see any wild life. We told the little ones if  they hurried, they may be able to catch sight of the bear from our upstairs deck.

      They were bubbling with excitement as they hustled upstairs and onto the deck. The evening was quickly closing in and dusk was settling. They purveyed the area but nothing materialized. Being cold and disappointed, they came inside still talking excitedly about the bear. As I looked out our kitchen window into the darkening sky, I saw a large owl perching on the top of our 40 foot birch tree. The kids were ooing and awing over this huge owl as our oldest son, Clark and his girlfriend walked in the front door.

      As we talked over each other, sharing snippets of what had just transpired, the owl flew off. WOW! It had an amazing wing span. We then went out the front door to see if we could catch a glimpse of anything. As you have probably seen from my pictures, our front yard is really quite secluded. Our drive way comes down to the front of our house and on either side of our property, there are tall pyramid cedar trees giving us total privacy from our neighbours. As we cautiously looked around, calling for our cats to come in, Clark’s girlfriend said, “oh look, a deer.” There on the ridge of the mountain behind our house was the silhouette of a deer.

      Wow!

      Then before heading off for stories, Will and Grace decided to look for the bear one more time from our upstairs deck. A moment later they were shrieking for us to come and see. When when we got there, the bear had dropped down into the bushes. They said, they had watched him lumber along the pool deck (yes, all of our neighbours have watering holes too) swatting at something in the bushes and then he dropped out of sight. As we continued to watch for while, hoping to catch another glimpse, twilight settled and a curtain finally fell, leaving us to wonder.
      .
      A bear, an owl, and then a deer. Do we have to move to the country after all? This was one of the reasons I had wanted to move. I wanted to see the wild aspect of our world on a daily basis. I’m sure having deer eat my flowers/veggies or having bear get into our fruit trees would get old fast. Also, having hawks and eagles, (both of which we see regularly) pick up my little chicks and maybe even larger chickens too, would be a pain. But, to get up close and marvel at wild life, well that is pretty amazing.

      Our subdivision’s motto is “Rural living at it’s best,” and tonight I was thinking how fitting that was.

      So sorry if you had wanted to read about my delicious Butternut Squash and ginger soup recipe, you will have to stay tuned…….I got side tracked with real life happening here tonight.

      Look deep into nature,
      and then you will understand everything better.
      -Albert Einstein 

      Until I see you again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope

       

      Summer Ends on this Soul Sunday

      / Lee Reynolds

      Goodbye summer!

      It’s been sweet. There have been so many wonderful memories and special moments to hold close to my heart.

      Summer ends today on this sacred Sunday.

      Yesterday, after working really hard around the house and yard, me cleaning the house, then mowing our lawns and working in the garden, while D cleaned the pool and cleared the junk lying around in the garage, we popped our kids into the van, picked up the LAST slurpee of the season, dropped some books off at the library and went for a drive into the country.

      We drove past fields of corn still growing, farmers mowing their final cut of hay, and cows fattening up, lazily eating late summer grass. As the kids slurped the last of summer’s sugar, we in the front seats, talked about how 2014 hadn’t gone as we had planned, We started talking about what we wanted our future to look like.

      We looked at some acreages (just land) that were for sale. Some too small, others too steep and tree filled, and then we drove past the BEAUTIFUL old fashion (but new) farm house, I have fallen in love with. It’s too far out for D to commute. Too far from the high school and University bus, and well, although it has an abundance of land, 78 acres, we’ve aptly named it, “the ON the grid house.” It has a high power electric line, (138 k.V.) I think D said, running down the middle of the huge hay field. While I LOVE this house and can imagine our family living there, having all my innards humming, isn’t my idea of living off the land. Plus, in our opinion they are asking too much money. So we drive on.

      When we came to a side road, D asked if I wanted to take it, knowing full well we would eventually come to another road. A road I had dreamed would lead us to our new home. I just nodded and for the longest time we drove silently thinking of what was ahead. Then we started to chat, admiring the farms with quaint houses with matching red barns, or making a comment about how some people don’t care for their precious land and allow debris to clutter up their property. We are envious.

      Eventually, we came to the road that would take us past the farm we had dreamed of living in this fall. Interestingly enough, the name of the road didn’t ever dawn on me until now. It’s called, “Hurt Road.” Do you ever think about the power of names? D smiled at me as he turned right and we meandered along the road, drinking in the beauty of the late summer glory. We were seeing this road for the first time  in late summer, since we found this property late last year when snow was almost on the ground. Everything was so green, rich and beautiful.

      Finally, we came to the Christmas tree farm’s first drive way,….it has this lovely 1/2 circle drive way that you enter from one side and leave from the other. I rolled down my window and the crisp scent of fall filled the air. You could hardly see the house, although it’s only situated 100 or so feet from the road. The deciduous trees are so thick with leaves but here and there are colours of yellow, orange and red. The trees know fall is coming.

      For a few seconds, I let myself daydream about turning into the drive-way and going home, then reality hit. This is someone else’s house now. The pain hit. Sheepishly, I asked D if we could leave a note on the front door, asking the new owners to contact us if they ever wanted to sell. He reminded me the house had sold at the top of our price range and they would want more money, IF they ever were to sell. I slumped into my seat for a minute as we slowly drove down the road and then sat up a bit taller to admire a horse we were driving by. I was sad. We turned around at the end of the road, as it is a dead end road, (just what I wanted) and this time as we cruised by the farm, an insight came to me.

      It dawned on me, until I say goodbye to the dream of THAT farm, I will never have my heart open to find another just as wonderful. A place for all my family to grow, to learn, to connect. A place where we can sit around the dining room table, like the Walton family from my favourite childhood T.V. show. A place where we can become even more sustainable and independent. A place where we can become not just farmers, but be soul FILLED people.

      And that is also the way it is in life. If we are always hanging onto a time, a place, or things, our hearts and minds aren’t open for new experiences. As time travels and we continue on our path, we need to open our arms and our hearts for the joy that is waiting. As I say goodbye to summer, I say Hello to the unknown of fall and the memories to come. Abundant blessings to be sure.

      This post also reminds me that right now, RIGHT NOW, is all that matters. Right now, is the gift given on this last day of summer. On a Soul Sunday. I’m going to go and have a relaxing bath, get dressed and join D and the kids who I can hear are in the kitchen laughing while making pancakes. There is fresh fruit and maple syrup too. Ahhhh the luxury of living in the moment. The bliss of it all.

      As I leave you, if you haven’t checked out Oprah’s Soul Sunday interviews to help you connect with the sacred, I would highly recommend them. They help me remember we are all connected and living our dream, right now!

      Note: If you are using an Apple product, you may not be able to view the video below. If so check out this link that should connect you to the video with Dr. Brian Weiss and Oprah talking about grief and living)

       

      Join me in welcoming Fall!

      It’s going to be the BEST season yet!

      Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope

      Sacred Circle Book Club

      / Lee Reynolds

      Another year of reading has begun. Last night was my first book club meeting for the year. Our book club year starts in September and concludes in June. We take the summer off to read our own material. Most of my summer reading was on the subject of homesteading. I LOVED the book called, “Chickens in the Road,” by Suzanne McMinn.

      This author was living my dream of building a homestead with chickens and many other animals, all while raising children. Apparently Suzanne had a successful blog while she was building her homestead which further endeared her to me as I know how much time writing consumes. She has moved to a new farm and I’ve been meaning to look her up to see if she still blogs. If so, she has a future follower. She writes from the heart and her journey touched me deeply.

      e.

      Another book I REALLY enjoyed this summer was, re-reading Barbara Kingsolver’s book called, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle…a year of food life.”

      If you haven’t read this book and are madly interested in living sustainably by growing your own food and living healthier, this is THE BOOK to read. I liked listening to the audio version too as Barbara, her husband and her daughter narrate the story and bring the stories to life. They feel like family now.

      And finally, I cried when I finished reading, “The Dirty Life,” by Kristin Kimball. Have you ever been so absorbed in a book, you felt you were one of the characters? I especially loved how they used horses to till the soil and prepare their fields. (I’ll mention here that I was  madly in love with horses when I was a teen and I spent many blissful days on the back of my horse, Blondie) I grieved as I read the last page of Kristin’s book and I hope someday to have a farm so full of life as they enjoyed on Essex Farm.

      Well those are my summer reads and we haven’t even talked about my Sacred Circle book club yet. Are my blog posts mini novellas or WHAT!

      In the fall of 2012, as I waited for the world to end on Dec 21, 2012, (Mayan Calendar prediction) I realized I wanted to start 2013 on the path of connecting deeply with my soul.

      During the last 10 years from 2001 and 2011, when I was trying to conceive our last four children, I experienced profound moments of insight and felt touched by many miracles. Now that our Grace, Will, Kathryn and Victoria were safely on the earth, I knew that I wanted to delve into my authentic self and continue to grow as a soul. Not just for me, but for our children. All our children.

      The older I get, it seems like the life lessons are on fast forward and I wanted to keep learning at a rapid rate, so I thought joining together with other like-minded women would create that environment of experience and enlightenment. At the end of 2012, I mentioned my desire to a few friends, who wouldn’t look at me like I was CRAZY and before I knew it, we were having our first Sacred Circle meeting.

      My sisters and I take turns choosing selections, then once a month we meet in our hostess’s home and discuss the book choice for the month. These are a few of the books we have read in the past.

      Proof of Heaven by Dr. Eben Alexander

      The Field by Lynn Mctaggert

      Living in the Light by Shakti Gawain

      The Four Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz

      The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz and son

      The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

      The Untethered Soul by Michael A Singer

      Well that gives you a glimpse into what we have read in the past. Do you think this genre interests you? Are you intrigued? Are you a student waiting for the teacher to appear? If so, I invite you to join us and read our future selections.

      I’m sorry, I didn’t get my act together enough to get this out before now as I was busy blogging about making Borscht (hey, nourishing bodies is important too) etc. but if you want to join us here is a look into this year’s selections so far. This month, (Sept) we read the book called, “The Hidden Lamp, Stories from 25 centuries of awakened women” by Zenshin Florence Caplow

      The consensus from those who read this book was, this is the type of book that one needs to read over the course of a year, instead of as a monthly book club selection. The stories evoked some strong reactions in some of our sisters, as women over the centuries have been suppressed and abused as  many of the stories were on this theme.

      When we were discussing some of the stories, the thought that being born on this earth as a specific gender is part of our growth as a soul, …..but wouldn’t it be great if we could move beyond our gender? I like the following quote from a spiritual teacher:

      “When a human being becomes so still that they begin to lose awareness of their gender, and they are simply looking into that abyss where there is no notion of self whatsoever, the world disappears. And that’s really the only place to go. It’s the only place to remain.”

       

      Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/andrewcohe271068.html#gXRsR9C2CDhwxmPe.99

      Ideally, that is the direction we humans on earth are moving.
      Anyway the conclusion with regards to this read was,  if you are interested in delving into these stories at a deeper level and are interested in Buddhism, this would be the book for you.

      And now for our NEXT selection……………………………..drum roll please,

       

      Next month, October 2014, we are reading the book called, “The Places that Scare You: A guide to fearlessness in difficult times” by Pema Chodron
      Here’s a quote I relate to by Pema,
      “…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.”
      ― Pema Chödrön
                                                        

      I’m looking forward to reading this book by Pema Chodron. I’ve listened to a few of her audio books and her voice emanates peace and wisdom. Perhaps you too, will resonate with her words.

      Will you join me and my other sisters in reading? I’m going to do a blog post after our next meeting and would love to hear your comments on the book….or maybe you have read a wonderful book that has touched your heart and impacted your life. Please share what you are learning. This was one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog, to connect with other like-minded people. All over the world.

      The Mayans were right, the world as we know it has ended.  We are now flowing in the direction of living consciously and tapping into our sixth sense, living mindfully with love and compassion in our hearts. We  realize we are connected to all people, all things, to Mother earth and our vibrations are moving in the direction of creating harmony. I personally, believe that one of the reasons we are seeing such evil all over the world now are because there are pockets of fear in the world. Anger and hatred are always the result of great fear. It’s my belief that love will prevail. I trust we are rising to live from our highest self.

       I hope reading books, like Pema Chodron”s book above will guide  us in the direction we need to
      travel.

         
       

                                              

      If all this interests you but you want to hear more about it…check out Dr. Wayne Dyer’s Youtube video called, “The Shift.”  Dr. Dyer was one of the first teachers I sought and even D enjoys his thoughts and wisdom….. he knows how to reach people from a human level.

      Here’s a link to Ambition to Meaning, “The Shift”

      (If you are using an Apple product, you may not be able to view this video, if so check out the following link to watch, Dr. Wayne Dyer’s, “Ambition to Meaning, The Shift.”)

      Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope  
      . 

      Vegetable Borscht~Grateful Gardens

      / Lee Reynolds
      Look what I have found in my garden this summer?

       

      This was the first one I found in my garden. EVER!
      And look where I found it.
      I know hey, a jumble of pumpkin, raspberry bushes, somewhere under there are also potatoes growing in containers …but then cantaloupes have been discovered too.
      This mysterious cantaloupe appeared in my pumpkin/raspberry/potatoes in container/ garden this summer, …next to one of my compost bins.
      Yes, I know, it’s lucky I found anything in this mess but one day, when I was out hand watering this patch, I was counting pumpkins and boy was I SHOCKED to find a cantaloupe.
      I didn’t plant ANY cantaloupe seeds. I’m actually surprised too that anything grew in this patch down by my compost bin.  My sister J says raspberries grow anywhere…thanks btw J, for the new raspberry plants. I’ll put them in as soon as I clear out this mess this fall.
      After I planted my main garden, I still had a few plants left and I just randomly planted them in this bed, not thinking anything would come up at all. After all, it isn’t on our underground irrigation system and the dirt is terrible.
       For years we had a weeping birch planted in this space. Although I really like birch trees, that one was always needing pruning and well, it also absorbed a ton of water and wasn’t producing anything for us to eat. When I started thinking garden sustainability, one of the first things to go was that birch. Before I planted down there this year, I meant to remove the stump and improve the soil but I never got around to it/ Was I ever surprised ANYTHING grew down there. One of the reasons I had the compost put in this area was I was wanting to build up the soil in this location. Smart thinking on my part to place my compost bin, where I wanted the new, improved garden area.
      So SURPRISE, surprise, surprise….I grew a cantaloupe.
      And boy was I feeling like a real farmer when that happened.
      But then, on another occasion, I found another one, again surprise! Did I mention this area gets little sunshine (no water, unless I get down there with the hose) and from what I have read melons love the hot sun.
      And I wasn’t the only one surprised at our bounty. Harrison who is always happy to see food even posed with our new melon friend…to be eaten forthwith.
      Then it happened two more times.

       

      From a plant  I didn’t even “knowingly” plant, we received four glorious cantaloupes. YOU can bet  I saved the seeds for us to plant in this same spot next year. I know four melons isn’t a lot in the big scheme of things and even eating but hey…when you have bonus food that you weren’t expecting, and it’s fruit that your family loves to boot, well you are GRATEFUL!
      Then there is the produce you did plant that turns out beautifully. I have never planted cabbage before as I was concerned about the notorious white cabbage butterfly infesting our garden but this summer our first cabbages turned out beautifully. I planted two varieties this year, a green and a red. They grew to enormous sizes and 6 plants of each fed our family all summer. Next year I’m doubling that as I want to put some away for winter. Cabbage keeps great I hear.
      All summer we ate coleslaw and I added cabbage to my kale salad but I was hoping that there would be one cabbage left in September so we could have our first pot of Borscht of the season.
      And look what was waiting for me in the garden the other day. Another reason to be grateful.
      Isn’t this Red Dynasty Cabbage a sight for sore eyes…..something my grandmother would have said…but it’s beautiful.
      And that wasn’t all. Down in that infamous pumpkin patch, I tipped over one of the containers I planted with Yukon Gold potatoes and I was happily surprised to find enough potatoes for several meals. We can go through 10 pounds of potatoes in no time if all the older boys are eating.
      Potatoes grown in one of the containers down at our pumpkin patch
      If you live on an urban homestead as I do, I would recommend growing your potatoes in a container. It was so easy and  as I was pouring my lawn clippings into the compost bin, I would top up my potatoes with a bit of mulch and throw a bit of dirt as well. By the end of summer the container was topped up and it was full of veggies. I was surprised by how many potatoes we received.
      With  our newly dug potatoes and this beautiful cabbage, I’m going to make a vegetable borscht. Come and join me as I cook.
      Pour a cup of tea and let’s get cooking. We can chat about being grateful as we go.

      Let’s see, where is my recipe, oh here it is:

      Hope’s Homemade Vegetable Borscht
       
      Ingredients
      • 3 medium-size beets, peeled and grated
      • 2 large carrot, peeled and grated
      • 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
      • 2 large tomatoes, diced
      • 2 tbsp of water
      • juice from ½ lemon
      • 2 L of water/vegetable broth
      • 1 tbsp of salt…or salt to your taste.
      • 6 medium-size potatoes, or the equivalent, diced
      • ½ cabbage….you can use green or red
      • 1  onion, diced
      • 1 tsp olive oil
      •  black pepper/pinch of salt
      • 2  bay leaves
      • 1 tbsp dried parsley or fresh finely chopped.
      • 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped or minced as you desire
      • 1 tbsp of dried dill or a large bunch of fresh finely chopped
      Directions
      1. Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add grated beets, carrots and diced tomatoes.


      2. Add 2 tbsp of  water and lemon juice to the vegetables and stir.
      3. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes.
      4. Meanwhile, boil 2 L of water in a kettle and add to the shredded vegetables, that have been on simmer for 20 minutes.
      5. Bring to a boil and add salt to your taste
      6. Add diced potatoes and shredded cabbage to the soup and cook for another 10 minutes


      7. While that is cooking, saute the onions and garlic over medium heat until golden


      8. Add onions and garlic to the pot and combine well.
      9. Add freshly ground black pepper, salt, bay leaves, parsley and dill to the soup. Cook for 15 minutes. 




      10. Now the best part, pour into bowls, add a big dollop of sour cream and a sprig of parsley.


      Serve with salad and dinner buns (recipe below) for a complete and delicious meal.

      This recipe feeds 12-14 people. It fed us for 2 nights which I’m grateful for as the second night was after being at the dentist with the whole gang and we were hungry when we arrived home. If you don’t need a whole pot full, please know it freezes really well. Perfect for a cold fall night.

      Let’s say Grace….

      Don’t you think when you come from a place of gratitude, even more gifts are bestowed. Let’s say grace.

      And before I close this post, I just wanted to jot down my dinner bun recipe. I used this also for my black bean burger recipe…but I make the buns a bit smaller for dinner.

      Ingredients:

      Serves: 12-15
      • 4 1/2cups flour
      • 4 1/2teaspoons dry yeast (2 8g packages)
      • 1 cup milk
      • 3/4cup water
      • 1/2cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup of oil
      • 1/3-1/2cup  white sugar
      • 1/2teaspoon  salt

       

      Directions:

       

        1. Mix 2 C flour& yeast in a large bowl.
        2. In a separate bowl, heat milk, water, oil, sugar& salt to lukewarm in microwave.
        3. Add all at once to flour mixture and beat till smooth. (Approx 2 mins in a Kitchenaid stand mixer).
        4. Mix in enough flour to make a soft dough (2 – 2 1/2 Cups).
        5. Mix well until dough is soft and slightly sticky, then turn out onto floured surface and let rest under a large greased bowl for about 15 minutes.
        6. Shape dough into 12-15 small balls and place on greased baking sheet to rise until doubled in size. (approx 45 Mins).
        7. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven 12-15 minutes.
          I add some ground flax seed and oatmeal to the tops of the dough as I’m making the buns

           

          For some reason, making bread and buns is such a nurturing experience

       

       

      So there it is my blog friends. A home cooked meal, nothing extravagant but when the ingredients come from your garden, you are even more thankful. I have to tell you our kitchen smells heavenly between the borscht and the buns cooking.

      Our cat, May Ling, a blue lynx point Siamese, has snoozed the whole afternoon away on the window seat in our kitchen. There is nothing like homemade soup, buns and a cat dosing in the kitchen in my books.

       

      When she hears my camera click, she starts slightly but only just…in a second she is dreaming about mice and quail again

      Thanks for coming today……..

      Until we meet again, may you be well, peaceful and happy.

      Blessings from Hope

       

       

       

       

       

      Hummus~Growing Healthy Children

      / Lee Reynolds

      Hi! Come on in and let’s talk about hummus and growing healthy children.

      As you may know from reading my blog, I’m currently homeschooling but perhaps for not much longer since it looks like the Province and the Teachers may have struck a deal. Only a vote away will tell whether I’m a home-school mama much longer.

      It’s been a lot of fun. Overwhelming at times managing different age groups and certainly challenging to stay a step ahead of everyone but rewarding to see the kids light up as they learn. I’ve decided to shift my perspective with regards to education. Yes, the teachers have our children for 6 to 61/2 hours everyday, but they are all mine after school and on the weekends. We can continue working on things  they have shown an interest in and continue our homeschooling in that fashion. So while the school bus may be coming next week, (Will is excited about that) I will look at the time they are gone as prep time for when they come home.

      In the meantime, we have been working on all the major subjects with our older children but with the little ones, we have been practicing following a simple set of instructions and accomplishing small projects. Sitting still and keeping their hands on their own work is a journey unto itself but we are making progress. I try to have some baroque music on while they work, to stimulate their brains.

      Of course we are doing lots of reading and sounding out words while remembering our sight words. We count all the time, from the moment they wake up from how many buckets it will take to rinse the shampoo out of their hair, to how many apple pieces are on the plate and calculating how many each child receives.

      I found a great web site I wanted to share with my blog friends, who have young children and want to print off simple sheets for their little ones to colour, perhaps cut out and paste.There are also many activities and even a Whiz kid math program if you have older children. (This is a U.K. site…waving Hi to my oldest daughter Alyssa teaching in the U.K.)

      Here is the cool web site, “Activity Village”     I have found and these are the sheets that I have printed off for the kids. Every day we do a new letter and when completed we put it their own individual books to look at throughout the day.

      I found these under printable alphabet sheets….on the Activity Village web site

      And while the kids are happily colouring, cutting out and pasting their pictures, I like to take a few moments and make one of our favourite snacks. Hummus.

      A few of my friends have asked how we encourage our children to eat their vegetables since their children won’t touch anything in the veggie category. This is so simple that I don’t know why other parents haven’t figured it out. “We” are the ones who do the shopping and prepare the food. If the kids want to stay alive, and they do believe me, they will eat anything you put in front of them, EVENTUALLY!

          Having your children help you in the garden, growing food inspires them to try all sorts of vegetables.

      There have been studies done on healthy eating showing children who have been given a wide range of vegetables from early age develop a desire to eat those same foods later into what would normally be their picky years. Plus, here is another benefit; they achieve higher IQ’s.

      Now I have to tell you we have had our fair share of picky eaters out of our 8 children. It was frustrating at times but we just kept offering them healthy choices and encouraged them to try a little bit of everything. Sure, there was a time when they resisted foods that mixed together, like soups and casseroles but those same (older children) are food cultured now.

      So be persistent and positive with your little ones and I hope you try my hummus recipe

      .Here’s what you need to make hummus.

      Do you have chick peas, garlic, olive oil, tahini and lemon juice?..you have the makings for hummus

      Hope’s Hummus recipe

      1- 19 ounce chick peas drained and rinsed
      2 tbsp tahini
      1 or 2 garlic cloves….I prefer my hummus really garlicky
      2 tbsp of virgin olive oil….maybe more if you like your hummus really smooth
      4 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

      Now, for the easy peasy instructions. Into your food processor, put your chick peas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice and mix it really well, then slowly add your olive oil until the hummus is the texture you desire.

      Well that’s it…now decide what you want to eat your hummus with. Today I cut up some vegetables and served them for snack time. My oldest daughter likes to put her hummus on a piece of celery and put a line of raisins in a row…yes she is 24 but some of us never truly grow up.

      The old ants on a log is great with hummus

      The cool thing about making it today is I have some hummus for the twins preschool snack tomorrow
      .BONUS!

       

      Come and get it!

       

      Dig in girls

       

      Will has loved hummus since he was a toddler

      And on the topic of growing healthy children, if our children are going to watch T.V. or videos, I like the message they are receiving to continue with the theme we are trying to teach at home. Like the following as it just emphasizes my thoughts about junk food.

      My kids are obsessed with The Berenstain Bears books and videos lately. Check out this one below however note if you are using an Apple product, you may not be able to view it…check out the link below.
       
      D and I have been reading these books and watching Berenstain Bear videos with our little ones for over 20 years now. They never get old
      I hope you enjoy the hummus recipe. A great source of protein and lovely as a snack with veggies.  And as far as growing healthy children, whether we have them ourselves or not, we can all contribute to raising the next generation of healthy children.  I believe that statement Hilary Clinton made about it taking a village to raise children.
      It does.
      I’m glad my village is close to getting our kids back into the classrooms.
      Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
      Blessings from Hope

      Homemade Energy Bars

      / Lee Reynolds

       

            

      What is energy? Have you ever thought about that? How is your energy depleted and how do you refill your tanks? Don’t you think when you are doing something you love, the energy just comes even though you may be physically exhausted.

      This reminds me of when our twins were newborns and I was physically fatigued all the time but somehow, the energy I needed to care for them came. I was madly in love with those little people and just caring for them each day, helping them to grow stronger, gave me energy I needed. Caring for my family gives me energy.

      I think our children are inherently active and they know the secret.

       

      Grace is a fish and loves to swim

       

      Mitchell passionately plays the striker position in soccer…he’s on the left side of the picture, in blue.

       

      The little girls love to jump
      If  I’m ever looking for Harrison, I just need to listen for thump, thump, thump and then a pause, swish
      And 9 out of 10 times, it goes in.

       

      And then there is Will, who is non stop action, I’d love to harness his energy source

      Well if you have read my blog at all, you know I’m all about energy. While I believe we are energy at it’s source, it does get depleted and we need to recharge. Whether that is from rest, meditation, or food, I want to get my fuel from a source that is as healthy and positive as possible.

      Along with my morning green drink, I thought I would share a recipe I made recently for our family. Particularly for our two older sons. (Sorry Mitchell, I will have to send you some in your next University care package)

      Our oldest son, Clark, has been working on building his body for over a year now. He counts calories, ensures he is getting a broad range of foods and it’s important that he has some sort of protein source right after his strenuous work outs in order to build the muscle he desires. Now I would love it, if he were doing “crop fitness,” on our farm, but on our small scale urban homestead there isn’t the extensive physical work required, so after a day at University, he heads to the gym. When he comes home he likes to eat something full of protein right away.

      Since we are moving slowly in the direction of becoming vegetarians, (for environmental and ethical reasons) I have to really plan and ensure we are getting the requirements all of our children need based on their activity levels, brain and physical development. My mother always taught me that moderation of anything was the key and I believe she was right. My advise to our children is that energy creates more energy, so stay active and eat foods as close to whole as possible, as fresh as possible and as colourful as well.

      These protein bars are really delicious, so I thought I would share the recipe with you. I have made energy bars before but I always follow a recipe closely, to ensure they turn out. I’m becoming more adventurous of late and our kids will even eats things that don’t turn out all that great. It’s a WIN/WIN.

      Today, I just looked in my pantry to see what we had and made the bars from what was there. You can be as creative as you want. Personally, if I were making these just FOR me, I would have put the dried cranberries in them, but I knew the boys wouldn’t eat them, (OR at least been reluctant to, all the while complaining saying, “these would be soooo good without the cranberries, mooom”) so here is what I came up with.

      Hope’s Energy Bars

      1 cup of dates
      1 cup of almonds
      1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
      1/4 cup ground flax seed (I grind them freshly every time I use them)
      1 cup of whey powder
      1 cup of organic peanut butter

       

      What’s in your pantry? Thank heaven I had some whey left from Christmas. Is it still good? The kids did a gift exchange and the boys had made energy bars for each other along with tie-dyed t-shirts, so I still had enough whey for these bars…yeah!

      I just went into the pantry to see what was available and came up with this mix…you can be as creative as your pantry is full.

       

      Add the dates, almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and the whey powder. into a food processor and mix them really well.

      Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl and add
      your peanut butter….sorry if you are allergic…we would die around here if we couldn’t eat peanut butter!

      Mix until well combined.

      I made the balls into 2 biters…big biters that is….now put them in the fridge or freezer to firm up

      At this point you can either form them into balls as I have done above, or you can spread them out in a pan and flatten them to 1/2 an inch high. Put parchment paper underneath and lay another piece on top. Put it in the fridge overnight and then carefully cut into desired shapes the next day. I personally like the ball shape as they pop into your mouth in two bites….or at least that is how many it took my kids to eat them today.

       

      “Mom, are you taking this picture for your Blog?” said Harrison on the right.

      I think these energy bars are going to go pretty fast by how well received they were before they even went into the fridge to set up. That’s okay though as they were quick and easy to make and next time, I’m putting some cranberries in them….for me.

       Clark works out at the gym 6 days a week and will enjoy these energy balls

       

      As for me, I get energy from feeding those I love. I hope you enjoy this post and make some energy balls/bars for your family.

       

      I do believe we’re all connected. I do believe in positive energy. I do believe in the power of prayer. I do believe in putting good out into the world. And I believe in taking care of each other.
                                                                                                                                    ~Harvey Fierstein~

      Until we meet again, may you be well, happy, energized and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope

       

      Homemade Laundry Detergent

      / Lee Reynolds

      It’s Monday and laundry day around here. While everyday is laundry day in our large household, Monday is my BIG laundry day.

      It’s the day that I try to strip as many sheets off beds as possible. The older kids love Mondays as it’s the day that they don’t have to make their bed. They do have to bring up their comforters and hang them out on the deck and bring me their sheets and pillow cases though. I love Mondays because at the end of a long, tiring day, I fall into bed with crisp, clean sheets and if I have worked really hard, my pillow cases have been ironed with a spritz of lavender water. Oh heaven!

      Since we do so much laundry, loads around here and we use tons of laundry detergent, this was one of the big things I wanted to address by becoming more frugal and certainly more green.

      The products I use to make my detergent are simple and the bonus is, I don’t use a new plastic jug of laundry detergent every 2 weeks. Yep, that’s right. I normally go through a large jug of detergent every 2 weeks, so finding an alternative solution was important for our family. Even if you don’t use as much detergent as we do though, you may still be wanting to find a less expensive alternative and one that isn’t filling up our landfills.

      Over the course of the last year, I have been playing around with a detergent recipe that works for my family and the level of clean I insist upon. Also, we have hard water to consider as well as an HE laundry team. I’m really happy with what I have come up with and I thought, this being laundry day, I would share my homemade detergent recipe with you and maybe if you aren’t already swayed to make your own detergent, this blog post will entice you to try it out.

      It takes literally 10 minutes to make this recipe which will last my family 2 months and costs peanuts compared to buying jugs of detergent from the store.

      Here is what you need to make:  Hope’s Homestead Laundry Detergent:

      1 cup Borax
      1 cup Washing Soda
      1 cup Oxi Clean product
      1 bar of Ivory soap or other
      pure or natural soap
      Essential oil (opt)
      4 cups of water
      40 cups of hot water

      Now if you are like me and you haven’t been able to locate washing soda, it’s really easy to make your own, which cuts down on more product and packaging because what you are going to use is a staple in your kitchen and in your natural cleaning supply shelf. It’s baking soda.

      Take 1 cups of baking soda, (I usually use 2 cups so I have enough for my washing soda jar since I also use washing soda to make my dishwasher detergent) and put it on a baking sheet.

      I spread it nice and thin and pop it in the oven at 400 to 425 degrees (everyone’s oven is different) for an hour. When the timer goes off your baking soda has transformed into washing soda. Voila! Cool hey.

      Once you have all your ingredients laid out, (Step 1) start by grating your bar of soap and the skies the limit as to the kind you use, but I would recommend a pure soap and one without colour.

      I personally love the smell of ivory soap but the scent is also something to take into consideration. I noticed when I was at the grocery store the other day that there were bars of sunlight soap for sale which would be cool if you want that lemony scent in your laundry detergent but a 3 pack of ivory soap was the same price as the 1 bar of sunlight, so I went for frugal. Also, ivory soap reminds me of my babies.

      Step 1, grate your soap

      Step 2. Boil 4 cups of water in a shallow pan and add your grated soap. I add mine slowly until it is evenly melted and the water is foamy. This can boil over and make a mess so watch it closely.

      Step 3. Find a large pail, preferably with a lid and pour 40 cups of hot water in the pail.

      I found that an ice cream bucket holds about 10 cups of water, so I would add 4 buckets of HOT water to my larger bucket. I use an old diaper pail, which is the perfect size and fits nicely in my laundry room. Our little girls are still in diapers at night but we go through so few now that the pail is redundant. One thing about growing children, this is ONE area that I’m not feeling bittersweet about, saying goodbye to diapers.

      It’s important you find a bucket with a lid because if your kids are like mine, they will drop things inside, plus there is always the concern of children drowning in buckets with liquid. (or animals)

       

       

       

      Once you have filled your large bucket with 40 cups of HOT water, (Step 4), you can add 1 cup of borax, 1 cup of washing soda and 1 cup of your oxi clean product. Mix them in the water until they have dissolved really well.

      Step 5. You can now add the foamy soapy water mixture from you pan. Be careful as this can easily splash and burn you. My little one is looking on so I was being very slow and careful as I poured it into the bucket. I normally make this after the kids are in bed for the night. It takes even less time and it’s all ready to go in the morning when I start washing all over again.

      And now for the final step, (Step 6) mix it ALL really well. I use a long wooden spoon to stir it.

       

      That’s it! Close the lid and leave it over night to set up.

      In the morning you will find that it has thickened considerably and has a layer of gel like soap on the top. I mix it again really well and at this point I add my essential oil to the mix. Lavender is my all time favourite as it’s also a disinfectant but you can choose whatever you would like…or nothing at all. Personally, I love the ivory along with the lavender but let your nose be your guide.

      The final thing I do, is put some detergent into a reusable jug above my washer and dryer. If I have to pre-soak some extra dirty clothes before washing, the jug makes it easy for me to grab. I have a sink next to my washing machine and I keep a bucket there for any items that need to pre-soak. I have to tell you that I use this detergent to clean our children’s all in one, Kawaii’s cloth diapers without any problem. They have never lost their absorbency and they wash up beautifully. I always pre-soak the diapers before washing as well in this mixture.

      For my HE washing machine, I just add whatever amount needed depending on the load of clothes I’m washing.

      Two scoops usually does the job. The scoop I use is shown above, next to the jug of detergent.

      Happy Washing! I’m grateful to have a laundry basket full of dirty clothes. When my kids come in from outside dirty, I know they have been having fun.

      Well, that was a good days work and boy am I ready for those clean sheets tonight.

      Thanks for joining me today. Let me know whether I have converted you to the cleaner/greener side of life.

      Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope

      Black Bean Veggie Burger~Homemade Burger Buns

      / Lee Reynolds

      It’s around the table and in the preparation of food that we learn about ourselves and about the world.
      ~Alice Waters~

      It’s a gorgeous September Saturday here in the Okanagan. Welcome!

      View of Kalamalka lake from our deck

      I’m thinking it’s the perfect day to prepare my black bean burgers so they are all ready to barbecue tonight.

      Please come in and join me in my kitchen and we can prepare them together.

      The first thing we need to do is saute 1 large onion in a skillet with about a tbsp of oil.

      Once onions are tender and translucent, place in a large mixing bowl and let them cool.

      When they have cooled, add the following ingredients:

      1 clove garlic, minced
      1 tbsp cumin
      11/2 tbsp chili powder
      1-19 ounce can of black beans, drained, rinsed and roughly pureed
      1 tsp oregano
      1/4 cup parsley or cilantro, chopped
      2 tbsp sesame oil
      1/2 cup almonds, roasted and chopped
      1 cup sunflower seeds, roasted and chopped
      3 cups of fine bread crumbs
      1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
      5 eggs
      2 cups grated carrots
      2 cups of oats

      Mix all ingredients really well,

      I like to add my eggs one at a time and mix really well.

      then shape into patties. Dredge lightly in flour.

      These burgers hold their shape really well and make enough for my large family plus lots to freeze for another night

      You can cook these burgers a number of ways. You can bake them in the oven on a greased pan at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or you can heat vegetable oil in a large pan and brown them on each side until they are heated through and ready to eat. We like to barbecue them. They keep their shape and often I’m grilling zucchini, corn etc to serve along with the burgers.

      Tonight, since I have some red dynasty cabbage still in my garden, I’m making a coleslaw to accompany them.

      We like to slather guacamole on our buns, along with  tomato and lettuce…I like mine totally loaded with everything I’ve listed plus some red onion. Let your imagination with toppings inspire you.

      Since the burger has cumin and chili powder in it, it’s got a southern flair and I like to serve some tortilla chips on the side with lots of guacamole for me, some of our kids like salsa

      It is so rewarding making the burgers, the buns and the slaw all from scratch…Delicious too!

      If you want to make your own buns like we do…here is my easy to make burger bun recipe..although I also use this recipe for dinner buns all year round as well…with my burger buns I just make them a bit bigger and the recipe below makes about 10 BIG buns.

      Hope’s quick and easy burger buns

      Ingredients:

      Serves: 12-15
      • 4 1/2cups flour
      • 4 1/2teaspoons dry yeast
      • 1 cup milk
      • 3/4cup water
      • 1/2cup margarine or butter
      • 1/3-1/2cup white sugar
      • 1/2teaspoon salt
      • (opt: cheddar cheese, dill, rosemary, or any herb you would like)

      Directions:

        1. Mix 2 C flour& yeast in a large bowl.
        2. In a separate bowl, heat milk, water, oil, sugar& salt to lukewarm in microwave.
        3. Mix in enough flour to make a soft dough (2 – 2 1/2 Cups).
        4. Add grated cheese or herb of choice is you wish here…
        5. Mix well until dough is soft and slightly sticky, then turn out onto floured surface and let rest under a large greased bowl for about 15 minutes.
        6. Form into balls, top with sunflower seeds and ground flax and let the buns sit on a baking sheet for a further 45 minutes to rise.
        7. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven 12-15 minutes.
          Side note, I like to add a mix of ground flax seed and oats and sprinkle them on the top of these buns before they start to rise…you can you any combination of seeds etc of your choice. My kids also like a cheesy bun so I will also put grated cheese on top as well as in the mix. The smell in the kitchen is fragrant and homey. I’m so glad you came today and joined me in preparing food for our families.

      Finally I should say if you have a large gang like I do this recipe makes enough for one meal AND another to freeze for another night. (which we busy moms need) I made 16 large burgers from my recipe today and they are BIG, the little kids just eat 1/2 a burger each.

      I made some homemade lemonade to accompany the dinner tonight. It’s an end of summer celebration

      I want to thank my friend Alison  for inspiring me to make these burgers. When the twins were newborn, she came over with a large container full of delicious food, along with freezer bags full of black bean burgers and lentil burgers. Lemon pound cake…oh it was absolutely the BEST gift a new mom could receive.  I know I phoned her to thank her but I don’t  think I ever told her how AMAZING it was to receive. Since then, black bean burgers are our regular summer fare and take me right back to when the babies were tiny and I needed to eat A LOT to keep my milk supply strong.

      So this post is dedicated to her and other generous people who go out of their way to give of themselves. Don’t even get me started about my best friend Tamara, who brought me tons of healthy muffins, even though she lived a days drive away from me when the twins were born.

      These are the earth angels surrounding me and they inspire me to give back. How can you help another person as the summer ebbs away? Maybe you can make a batch of black bean burgers for your family and give the other 1/2 of the batch to a new neighbour, or friend in need or invite a new family to join you for dinner.

      To Alison and Tamara, you are earth angels!  Thank you for being there and helping me stay healthy when our twins arrived. People like you are the light workers we need on earth.

      Thanks to my blog readers for joining me today.

      Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope

      We May Never Pass This Way Again

      / Lee Reynolds
       
      Will takes his sisters safely across the parking lot to preschool….me snapping pictures and weeping over how bittersweet this moment truly is. This is the last time I take any of my children to their first day of preschool
      When we arrived at preschool I could hear this weird booming sound and it wasn’t until we got across the parking lot and passed some parked cars that we saw the source. These two beagles were howling for their humans…probably their little humans who were starting preschool for the first time. The girls thought they were enchanting as the dogs wagged their tails madly. What a great greeting on the first day of preschool!
      Although our children’s preschool has changed a lot in the 20 years since our oldest attended,
      this sign has never changed but reminds me how many firsts and lasts I have experienced and how much I have changed

      Our youngest daughters, Victoria Hope and Kathryn Mira, started preschool this week. When did they grow up? It’s hard to believe this will be the last time I experience the “first” day of preschool with our children.

      Victoria and Kathryn are so “BECITED” to start preschool…that is Victoria’s word btw

      “This time will never come again,” is a mantra I have been humming to myself lately. Although we have two years of preschool stretching out ahead of us, with pumpkin patch field trips and all sorts of parties and special events. Before I know it, our little ones will be moving on to big kid school.

      (Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire.  ~William Butler Yeats)

      The first day of preschool is now behind me.

      I remember when they were tiny, coming home from the hospital at 41/2 and 5 pounds.  I hovered over them, watching their eyes open for awhile, take in the world and then close with exhaustion. It took so much of their energy to just eat. As I fed them, I marveled over their delicate fingers and the down on the tops of their heads. I breathed in their sweet scent and as I fed them, I wished them to grow stronger and bigger so that this day would come. And now it too is past.

      As you know many of my blog posts of late have been about our older children moving away from home and many would think our twin daughters are still years away from that and what’s the big deal, but having that experience allows me the perspective of knowing how fast time flies. With me, it’s always about LETTING GO! Is this only me or do we all experience this?

      I do feel like I have been given such a gift to have raised a whole generation of older children and now I have the wisdom of hind sight, which I hope garners me wise enough to parent our last children with this knowledge. I will try to be more gentle on myself and on them.

      So as I settle in to the fact that all of our children are out in the world, in one way or another, I’m going to treasure all these firsts and lasts and be really conscious each moment knowing, we will never come this way again.

      When I was pregnant with the twins I used to call them my little ladybugs babies. They were due on June 14th 2011 but came a month early on May 20th..the Victoria Day long weekend….Ladybug season!

      When I was thinking about a life philosophy I could pass onto my daughters (actually all our children) it would be in this poem called, Desiderata. Have you read it? It was popular when I was growing up. Many times over the years as I wondered why I was here on earth. I would recite, “I’m a child of the Universe, no less than the trees and the stars and I have the right to be here.”

      I want my children to head out into the world with this belief in their heart, or at the very least in their back pack, so they can dig it out now and then and find something that speaks to them.

       Desiderata
      Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
      As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
      Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
      Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
      If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
      for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
      Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
      Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
      Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
      But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;
      and everywhere life is full of heroism.
      Be yourself.
      Especially, do not feign affection.
      Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
      Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
      Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
      Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
      You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
      you have a right to be here.
      And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
      Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,
      and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
      With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.
      Max Ehrmann 1927©

      Sigh…..isn’t that GREAT!

      When I was loading my itunes the other day I came across an old Seals and Crofts song (yes I’m dating myself here) I loved growing up. Little did I know how profound it would be to say goodbye to our children, whether they are starting preschool for the first time, heading off to University in another city or flying to the U.K. to start their new life. Knowing how precious the time is makes you stay right in the moment and yes, sometimes weep but often rejoice in the beauty of it all.

      Fly little lady bugs! 

       

      Our Little Lady bugs, Kathryn and Victoria

       


                For we may never pass this way again

       

      (If you are using an Apple product, you may not be able to connect with this YouTube video, if so, please click this link,  .it’s Seals and Croft’s song, “I May Never Pass This Way Again.”

      Thank you for sharing in more of my letting go moments.

      Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope

      The Magic in the Music

      / Lee Reynolds / 1 Comment

      We only have so much time with our children and then we are gone. Whatever imprint we want to leave on them, whatever wisdom we want to share, the moments are ticking by.

      I remember when our first baby Alyssa Rae was born and I was alone with her day in and day out. All alone. After years of working in an busy office setting, surrounded by co-workers, clients and daily expectations, all of a sudden the days stretched out like an eternity.

      There was just she and me, I and her, sharing our days. I wished I had told her more what a beautiful baby she was, how special she was, how proud I was of her. I wished I had told her she was perfect just as she was and I hadn’t felt so driven over the years to register her into every activity available for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, school age, teens, etc. just so our days would be full and busy. I wished we had done nothing but enjoy the simplicity of her childhood and all the magic that was held within. That we had cuddled in bed lost in books, that we had gone on more nature walks and eaten popcorn for dinner, that we had sat dreaming together over tea, toast and jam.

      Sadly, my childhood imprinted on her. The loss and grief I had experienced, settled on her heavily without any words spoken. I wanted her to experience everything I had desired as a child, yet little did I know the message she was receiving was, “she wasn’t good enough, bright enough, talented enough.” Without the extra curricular activities that she was registered in, she somehow felt less than as a result. My childhood fear filtered through her and she felt unworthy.

      I wished I had taken the time to listen to her and what she wanted. I wished I had taken the time to tell her that just being my baby was enough. She wasn’t even my baby after all, I was only her caretaker for awhile, but oh, she brought so much to my life when she arrived. It was immeasurable.

      The moment she was born was the ONLY life lesson she ever needed to teach me and yet even now here she is, still “teaching” me by being out in the world, so brave and strong. Thanks Alyse, for sharing this beautiful YouTube video clip (blog friends see below) and inspiring me with your shining soul.

      Alyssa, ready to take off and fly  

       
      The hourglass has turned and my daughter is off to start her own life in the U.K.

      I love this video. (see below)  Not just because of the powerful message, BUT I also love violin music. So much so, that I registered two of our sons in violin and one in cello and encouraged them to play for YEARS, just so I could be surrounded by my favourite instruments playing all the time. (My father played violin too) I like to believe that they appreciated learning to play these beautiful classical instruments but they have also told me to a degree, they continued to play to make me happy.

       

      To my sons I say, keep playing your beautiful music,  let it spill out of your luminous souls and guess what, you never have to worry about your bow hold again!

       

      The last day the kids were all together before Alyssa left for the U.K.

      To all of my children, I say,

      “YOU
              are 
                    LOVED “

      Knowing that will echo out into eternity……………………………………………………………………….

      And here now is, “The Maker”

      (please note, for my blog friends who are using an Apple product, you may not be able to view this video, if so try the link above to the YouTube video, “The Maker”….I hope you can view it as it’s AMAZING!)

       

      To my dear blog friends, you ARE loved too.

      Until I see you again, may you be well, peaceful and happy.

      Blessings from Hope

       

      Green Energy Drink~Elixir to Radiant Health

      / Lee Reynolds

       

      Yummy kale in our garden

      As you know from my last couple of posts, I’m a homeschooling mama now and since I know many of my friends are also in the same boat, I thought I would do a post on the energy elixir I discovered a number of years ago.

      I started thinking about this being the perfect blog post last night as I was plugging in my cell phone to charge it for the evening and I was thinking, “wouldn’t it be cool if we mamas could re-charge our batteries so easily.” Cell phones are a crucial way of staying connected in our fast paced lives but when they run out of charge they are useless.

      Mothers are useless as well when they run out of steam. They are the back bone of society and are true warriors as caring for children and the family is a 24/7 job. Being a mother is daunting and overwhelming at times and often all that keeps us going is coffee and sticky kisses. Personally, I don’t partake in coffee, so the kisses have to be REALLY good. At the very least we need respite care to re-charge our drained batteries.

      Yes, sleep is one way to rejuvenate and restore ourselves but I only get a really deep sleep every now and then these days as there is always someone up and about in the evenings. If it isn’t an older child waking me as they come home late, (I sleep with one eye open until all my chicks are in the nest) or a little one with a night terror, it’s me, getting up to attend to my urgent bladder of which has never been the same since the twins birth. So, yeah, me and sleep, let’s just say we are passing strangers in the night.

      Then there is something to be said for meditating.


      The practice of which helps us reconnect with our soul, which is eternal and when we connect with the deepest part of ourselves, which is creative energy at it’s core, we can fill the tanks nicely. You have to get in the groove though and seated meditation isn’t the easiest thing to do when you are a mama as it requires sitting STILL, and you either have to get up earlier than your kids (in my house that means I’m up before the birds) or stay up late at night which I do, do…but often I’m writing or reading. Still, this is a great way to re-charge at the soul level and I think people who meditate a lot look ageless.

      Then there is always doing something outside your comfort zone which stimulates and excites you. Have you ever taken a course even though you didn’t think you could find the energy and somehow you  are walking on air and looking at your life through new lenses?

      Well those are all great ways to energize yourself but what I’m proposing is giving your body some juice (literally and figuratively) to boost your energy.

      I don’t know about you but we ate really healthy this summer. LOTS of different salads and various veggies from our garden. Most days our treats were all the summer fruits available in our area of the world. We did however eat our fair share of ice cream and baked treats. I knew Alyssa and Mitchell would be leaving home in August and I wanted to give them all their fav desserts. We had carrot cake, brownies, lemon pound cake, date squares, oh the list goes on and on. I know as I was waving goodbye to our beautiful children I was feeling sluggish and it wasn’t solely a deep sadness but was my body saying I had to let go of a few pounds and find balance again.

      Now we are all different but what I discovered 10 years ago was when I indulge in any dairy products, anything processed and definitely sugary type foods, my body reacts strongly and I feel exhausted. When I was trying to conceive in my early 40’s, I had read when we assist our liver by clearing toxins out of our diet, our hormones balance and work more efficiently. A side benefit was having great skin, glossy hair, beautiful nails and hey, I looked younger too. I think I have found the green elixir to ageing gracefully.

      So if you are in need of an energy boost, want to lose a few pounds or even look younger, head out into your garden (or check out your local farmer’s market) and gather as many colourful vegetables as you can find and join me back in my kitchen.

      When you start your homestead, plant your fruit first because it takes a number of years for them to produce. This is the first year that we allowed apples to grow on our three year old trees…This is our Spartan apple tree.

       

      A bowl full of energy, carrots, parsley, kale, swiss chard, and apples.

      Now if you know me or have read my blog at all, you will know that I’m not a high maintenance type of gal. Last fall when D gave me a new compost bin, you would think he had given me a diamond ring for how ecstatic I was, so when he gave me a Champion juicer for my birthday a number of years ago, I WAS BEYOND thrilled. Plus, our family has benefited with greater health.

      If you don’t have a juicer (yet…I hope my post convinces you to buy one) you can certainly buy some green powder, or go and become a wheat grass junkie at your local health food store (like I used to be) …that is the next thing I dream of…a wheat grass extractor with a fridge in the garage to store my wheat grass trays….it will come.

      I found a great powder by Webber Naturals at Costco for a great price ($25.00) and often this is what I start my day with. I shake up a cupful and drink it about 1/2 hour before I eat my oatmeal which aids in the digestion and jump starts my day. Below my breakfast of choice.

      When I make my oatmeal, I also add a scoop of 8 grain cereal to the cooked oatmeal, along with some ground flax seed. Then I go crazy with walnuts, almonds, cranberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or frozen fruit I keep for my smoothies. I find that when we are in a rush and if I’m wanting the little kids to eat their oatmeal fast, then I add the frozen fruit and it cools off the oatmeal quickly…although I like to savour my oatmeal before I start my day.

      Oh I like adding all sorts of things to my oatmeal…today there was soy yogurt, walnuts and bananas

      So if you don’t have a juicer, check out all the powder greens to give your liver a boost and help with your digestion. This one addition will give you a big boost.

      If you want to see what you are eating however, gather your vegetables, the skies the limit.

      Today, I gathered kale, apples fresh off our tree, parsley, swiss chard, cucumbers, carrots, and ginger. What I forgot, but I usually put in all my juices is some celery…but this is what I love about juicing, each time it’s a bit different. The ginger is a warming herb and great for digestion, plus gives it a zing.

       

       

      Parsley is a diuretic and great for your liver

      Here is my Champion juicer in action….you can put the pulp in your carrot muffins, yum!

      Oh look at that beautiful green colour!

        Cheers!
      To make silly cracker people, spread some hummus, add a cucumber slices, 1/2 a cherry tomato for eyes and a slice of apple for the mouth…the kids were moving the tomatoes around and laughing like crazy…food is fun!

      And voila! my afternoon snack with the kiddos. I drank the green juice but we all ate the crazy WASA cracker/hummus people. Our kids will drink a carrot, heavy to the apple and a tiny bit of ginger juice (apple/carrot zinger) but when I add too much of the green stuff they scrunch up their little noses. That’s okay. They eat their greens by way of broccoli, beans, cucumbers, etc. Their little bodies regenerate so fast and they haven’t the toxins built up from years of damage yet so they don’t have to eat pounds of organic vegetables to re-charge. We are certainly mentors when they see us chug our green drinks and chase them for a messy kiss with our green moustaches afterwards.

      I wish you could come over for a juice.  Although I think my friends Tamara, Jane, and Laura have partaken and certainly my sisters B and J have caught me juicing. They all know I have to stay young and energized to keep up with Will and the twins. Hey, and if you think that this may be too much, just try each day cutting up a bunch of veggies and over the course of the day munching on all that raw power. You will feel GREAT!

      Life is so good and needs all our enthusiasm and gusto to enjoy it.

      Here is a YouTube clip I found on juicing…if you are wanting to learn more check it out.

      (If you are using an Apple product, you may not be able to watch this video below, if so I hope this link works for you, “The Benefits of Juicing.“)

       

       

      Wishing you a radiant, energetic, life.

      Until, I see you again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope

       

      Swimming in Water

      / Lee Reynolds

       

      On the heels of my blog post about homeschooling our children, I have been sent an inspiring message on what is the MOST important thing we can teach our children.

      To teach them to be conscious in the moment and to make choices on how they want to think about ANYTHING.

      If we can do that, well, we have done a BRILLIANT (a word recently picked up by my U.K. residing daughter) job.

      As we head into week two of the teacher’s strike, I’m going to relax and maybe hang out more in the pool, enjoying the last of the summer’s sunshine.

       

      Victoria and Kate, “Enjoying being together”

       

      Being Brave and jumping in the deep end even if you don’t know how to swim

      Victoria and Grace, 1, 2, 3, jump!

      Exploring the tools that can help you in life

      Kate, paddling around the pool with her noodle

      Wanting to see everything as you travel your path

      Will and his fav goggles

      Knowing you are surrounded by lots of people who love you

       

      Kate, Will and Tori
      I hope you find the following  YouTube video, “This is Water” as inspiring as I have…..and  thanks Alyssa (our oldest) for the link. You are a beautiful swimmer.

      (If you are not able to view the video below, I hope the following link will take you to the wonderful YouTube, video message, called, “This is Water.”)

      Have a nice day!

      Until I see you again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope

       

      Homeschooling Adventure

      / Lee Reynolds

      What is that saying? Watch what you wish for, or it just might come true.

      Well my wish has come true. Yes, I have been wishing for a farm for a few years now. I want space where we can grow enough food for our family to be sustainable. Land for animals to roam and enjoy life. Real farm animals that can provide things like eggs, milk, cheese. I have even day dreamed of homeschooling our children and wondered how they would develop if we allowed their innate curiosity and inquisitive minds to take the lead in their learning.

      Our Siamese cat, Ryuki thinks, “he’s animal enough!”

      It looks like my second wish is coming true and I’m currently homeschooling our young ‘uns. I hadn’t quite pictured how this would unfold or even come about. It wasn’t like this was my BIG wish either. But still, I had sent it out into the Universe and here it is. This is the cool part about putting your wish out there…wherever “there” is. Once you send it out, the vibration of that dream is picked up but you have NO CONTROL over when it comes to pass, or how it will transpire.

      Case in point, I had no idea that the teachers would go on an extended strike with the Province in order for my wish to come true this September.WOW!

      But no matter how things manifest, my dream has come true. I’m a homeschooling mama! Albeit without the farm, without the cool farm animals. (Although Ryuki, our Siamese cat…picture above would say, he is animal enough!) I know it’s coming. If you don’t know me by now, here is my daily mantra….”trust and let go.”

      So yeah! We are on day 2 of our homeschooling foray and I’m EXHAUSTED!

      I have to start reading some homeschooling blogs to figure how in the heck they do it. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. It’s right up there with keeping our newborn twins alive in the first year of their life, while taking care of the 6 older ones, without any outside help.

      After that I thought I could do anything. And while yes, I am a warrior, this homeschooling gig has it’s limits. I’m on day 2 and like my daughter said this morning when she woke up, “do we have to still do this?”

      First of all, just getting up at 7 am, after having had a summer of sleeping a bit later (like 8 am with our three little ones) has been really hard. Of course it doesn’t help that I often stay up into the wee hours to read or write. But, gesh a mama has to have a life. Getting up an hour earlier is a killer. Do you think regular homeschoolers sleep in?

      Then the other issue is, while I’m homeschooling, I’m not attending to any of my chores, like working in the garden, cleaning the house, doing my laundry, AND my little work crew are not assisting with any jobs either. Thank heavens, it’s rained off and on the last two days so I haven’t been stressed about watering the garden, harvesting or collecting seeds.

       

      Dill seed is just one of the herbs I want to save

      While the rain and cooler weather has been a good thing in that the kids feel like fall is coming and returning to structured learning is part of the package, I cringe to think of the weather changing back to a warmer trend since they will probably want to have friends over to our swimming hole.

      Anyway, that is my rant of the day and right now I’m not too thrilled with our Provincial government because they just don’t get how tough teaching our kids is. One of the big issues on the table is class size and classroom support because in any given class there can be a 1/3 of the students that have various learning challenges.

       

      Grace working on a math worksheet but she also likes the IXL web site for math

       

      Practicing flute and piano

       

      Grace looking up flute music on the computer..which makes homeschooling so easy

       

      Harrison plays drums, ukelele and violin…I know a weird combination right?

      After spending two days with my crew, who are all like little sponges and as far as I know not even dyslexic, this is a huge task. So right now, I’m on the side of the teachers but if they stay out for much longer, yeah, yawn!, I may be swayed to side with the government.

      The biggest part of homeschooling is keeping the little ones busy and occupied.

       

      What I love about homeschooling though is you can drop everything and just paint.

       

       

      I like the level one readers as they learn their sight words easily
      Also, the Leap Pad  Explorer has been a great tool for introducing math and reading to young ones
      Another side benefit to homeschooling is all the great bonding that happens

      Enough said about all that, you know what I’m doing, so if I’m not writing regularly, it’s ’cause I’m SPENT at the end of the day, when I normally have some time/energy to hit the keyboard.

      What I REALLY wanted to talk about was my initial title, “Watch what you Wish For,” and all that THAT, entails.

      If you have read much of my blog, or know me in person, you will know that I fell in love with a piece of property that is about 30 minutes from our current homestead. The house was absolutely PERFECT for us. A large Cape Cod style home with bedrooms for everyone, or space to renovate to create that. The interior was decorated in my favourite colours and the flow of the house was well suited for our family and their various ages and genders.

      The property was perfect too. Almost 18 acres, some in pasture, some in woods, some garden space. They even had the kind of chickens that I wanted already living in the back yard! The thing that resonated with my heart was the fact that this was an established Christmas tree farm. An environmentally friendly farm at that. Could it get any better than that!

      Now if you don’t already know me, I have to tell you that Christmas is MY fav season. I love Christmas trees most of all. We have four Christmas trees in our house every holiday season. We have one in our Hobbit’s Hollow play room/media room, (sometime soon I’m going to tell you about our Hobbit’s Hollow and creating unusual space) then two fancier ones on the main floor. The kids even have one, in the hall, outside of their bedrooms.

      The first time we toured the farm, I walked amongst the trees, stretched my arms to touch their branches and smelled the forest filled scent, I knew I had found my new home. For some strange reason I thought the house would just wait for us, until we could prepare our house for sale, list it and then sell it. Well it had been on the market almost a year when we first toured it and it was not cheap so we thought it may not move as fast and my husband thought also they may be more motivated to sell once we finally made an offer. Everything seemed right about it and things for the longest time seemed to be falling into place for us to move in that direction.

      The week, we were going to list our house, was a week full of trials and tribulations. Something always seemed to be going wrong. Our older children were extra needy with their commitments to their various summer jobs, the fitness gym and their social life. So while we drove them around to fulfill their commitments and desires, it just made it harder to complete that last bit of painting, repairs, final de-cluttering projects etc. around our house. Also, D,  my hard working husband, found out he had to go out of town for a few days which added more stress to the whole mix. I felt like I was doing it all but hey, it was my dream to sell and move
      .
      On top of all that, our neighbour, who has lived across the street from us for 17 years, and has never asked us to help her with anything, came over and asked if we could care for her plants and yard while she was gone for a week. I just smiled and said yes but gesh, could the Universe throw anything more our way. I was having enough problems keeping my yard looking great during our heat wave and now I had her yard to care for as well. Yikes!

      As it turned out, her outside potted plants were all over the place and in little pots which meant they dried out really fast in our Okanagan heat. Also, although she had an “automatic” sprinkler system, the automatic part was that you had to turn on and off the zones manually. It was taking an hour and a half every day to water her plants and yard. More than I could afford, but what could I do?

      On top of all that, several of our children didn’t want to move at all and were putting up protests as the listing date got closer and closer. Almost daily, I would hear a complaints from each one but at different times asking, why do we have to do this.  Then I would have to stop and address their individual concerns, explaining my case for moving and how it would benefit our whole family.  It’s tough to convince kids, who have lived in the same house their whole life, that moving away from neighbourhood friends is a good thing. I felt like I was hitting a wall each day during that time.

      As the week progressed, I was becoming more stressed. I wasn’t eating properly, I was hardly drinking water as I ran around taking care of our neighbours yard and our own. (I won’t get into my kidney stone condition too much here but suffice it to say that drinking water is crucial or I end up in the emergency room) On top of that I was just trying to keep our house clean, let alone get it staged for the listing agent’s arrival. (have you ever tried to stage a house with 8 kids?)

      My gut was telling me that something wasn’t right. When there is so much tension, so much stress, nothing good can ever come in that state. It isn’t the state of allowing. So when our real estate agent came to list our house, he forewarned us that there were negotiations underway on our farm as we spoke and although there was no offer accepted, there was an interested party.

      We wouldn’t know for a week though as that was the closing date for the offer on the table. We decided not to list our house though until we knew for sure whether the farm was still available. After all there was nothing else that we were remotely interested in that would house our large family and meet my farm dreams. We waited.

      Everywhere I went that week I found feathers. Will even found a few for me and since he too believes they are messages from our angels, he would get really excited when he found one and say, “look mommy, let’s make a wish.” I had pockets full of feathers that week. Now I have to share a back story on the feather thing. Several years ago, when I was trying to conceive and hitting walls, I read a book about connecting with angels.  In that book it mentioned one of the ways  angels tell us they are near is by sending us feathers. So whenever I see feathers now, I know I’m not alone. As I pick up the feather, the first thing that pops into my head, is their message to me, then I whisper “thank you.”

      Have you been finding feathers?

      (I thought I would share the above Youtube video on finding feathers… I’m an angel believer. If you are an Apple user, you may not be able to view the video so I hope this link will help you, click on,“Finding Feathers, signs from your angels”)

      That week, I found an inordinately large amounts of feathers. They were everywhere! What I heard from my intuition/heart/soul/gut, from my “my angels”… was it was going to be okay but that my farm was not going to be mine after all. Sure enough, a week later our real estate agent called to say, after a year and half on the market, our farm finally received an offer and it was accepted. It would not be mine. Interestingly enough, it sold for the amount that we were thinking we would be willing to pay for it.

      Anyway, the story doesn’t end there, oh no, sorry, you know me and novellas. When our neighbour returned from her week away, she brought over this big bag. I was at a loss as to what she had wrapped up as it was large and heavy. As I opened the top of the bag and looked inside, I could not believe my eyes.

      Inside was a beautiful blue spruce tree in a glossy red ceramic pot. A Christmas colour for sure. When I told our neighbour all about losing the Christmas tree farm and how receiving this tree was like a sign not to give up “hope,”  she was rather amazed, since as she was thinking of what to give us as a thank you, a tree popped into her mind and seemed to be the perfect gift. It made me cry because my farm was gone and I had no place to plant it but the tears flowed also because someone was listening to my wishes and wanting to send me comfort. Just knowing “that” was EVERYTHING.

      This is the blue spruce gift our neighbour gave us.

      The meaning of the blue spruce tree is, Trust God

      About a week later, we hosted a “long in coming” family re-union at our house with my three older sisters and most of their families. My sister C heard how sad I was about losing the farm but also of how our neighbour had given us such a beautiful gift. She told me that trees all have their own meanings. I had no idea. She said when she was in Scotland, she purchased a tree for each of her sons which were planted in an environmentally enhanced farm that provides a space for people who want to plant meaningful trees, who don’t have the space. Also, now her sons have trees planted just for them in Scotland. She chose trees with unique meanings for each of her boys.

      The next day I looked up, “Blue Spruce” and found that it means, “TRUST GOD.”

      Wow! It gives me shivers just thinking of it now because that was another message along with my feathers. To not give up hope and to trust God.

      Yeah, I didn’t get my Christmas tree farm but I am homeschooling my children right now and I know the farm is coming. I just don’t know what it’s going to look like or how it’s going to come to us. Have you ever felt that anticipating something is even more fun than finally getting it? That is how I’m choosing to look at my big WISH now. I know it’s coming but while I’m waiting, I’m going to be grateful for what I have been given, (oh so very much!) and be joyful in the moment. Life is so good!

      And that reminds me of a quote that I love:

      “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
      ― Eleanor Roosevelt

      The only thing I’m thinking now and maybe the Provincial government and the teachers have not factored this into their extended dispute, is that some people like me, who were on the fence with regards to homeschooling, may now have the opportunity to try it out and grow to love it.

      Day three awaits.

      I think we are all going to sleep in tomorrow!

      Until I see you again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

      Blessings from Hope