My last post’s ink was barely dry when I woke up to find Trump imposing a 25% tariff on Canada’s steel and aluminum and I felt compelled to share another thought (and video) with you this morning.
My hope is we continue to stay together and support our Canadian government officials as we weather Trump’s tariff. My hope is each of us use the power of our hard earned dollars and send a clear message to Trump and his government that we will retaliate. Bullies don’t like when you stand up to them! If you want some ideas on how you can protest this tariff, take a peek at the post I wrote yesterday. Here’s the link to “Happy Together.” You can also watch suggestions from our B.C. Premier, David Eby. click here for that link.
I don’t have a cookie recipe to share with you today. But I do have a YouTube video that I watched last night, after viewing the exciting Super Bowl game. We are Eagles Fans….yeah! I have to say it felt rather GREAT watching them win after Trump said in his pre game interview he was a Chief’s fan. It felt even greater hearing him getting Booed. (hey, while I try to live in the light, it feels good to see bullies not always win)
After we’d cleared up our Super Bowl party snacks, I watched an interesting video from, (Warrrior of Peace) Andrea Winn, titled, “This is the Only Way to Unseat Trump.” The title was intriguing. Also, I thought much of what she said resonated with what I had just written about a few hours earlier regarding Bullies and feeding them with fear/anger, etc. If you are interested in hearing her thoughts which echoed much of mine, I’ve included the link below.
I’d love to hear what your thoughts are with regards to fighting against the announced tariffs. In addition, I’d love to hear what you think of Trump’s desire to Annex our country. Please comment below or you could visit my “Hope’s Homestead Page” on FB/meta. I did say I was going to delete my accounts yesterday, but then today I thought no, what better way than protesting against Trump and Mark Z, and Jeff Bezos, not to mention E. Musky and his techno Muskrats, than airing my thoughts on Mark Z’s platform.
Seems fitting!
What do you think? Yes, let’s use our social media and tell them what we think of them. Yeah, so if you want to make a comment, check out my FB page or share your thoughts below on my blog.
Without further ado, here’s the link to the video I was talking about above. Enjoy. And remember we are stronger together. We can make a difference in the world right now by being kind. (oh, that makes Bullies grow even smaller!) Make it a game today and see how much kindness you can spread around your world. Smile at a stranger, help out someone at the grocery story, let someone in traffic move in front of you, take some cookies to your neighbour. Take some soup to a sick friend.
Be that little pebble in the pond!
Which Wolf will you feed?
Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
I don’t know about you, but January 2025 is quickly flying by. Some of you may know that I belong to a wonderful writing group. We meet every two weeks in my dear A’s art studio where we share our latest poem or prose piece. Usually we choose a prompt for inspiration. Our most recent prompt was, “Silence.” I sat with that word and what it meant to me for a whole week but nothing came. Hoping meditation would help, I sat some more. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It wasn’t until the weekend before we were to gather, while whipping up a batch of date cookies when a story finally emerged. I’d like to share that story with you now. Maybe it will ignite a memory from your past when a moment of silence planted a seed that grew in your life too. However, if you’re only here for my Date cookie recipe, ha! scroll to the bottom. These cookies are soft, chewy and oh so flavourfull. Healthy too! Perfect for sharing with my writing buds….or taking to a neighbour.
It’s 1964. I’m four years old. My family and I live in a small town on the West Coast of Canada, called Hope, where everyone knows what day you change your sheets from the wispy ghosts flapping behind your house. Surrounding our sleepy town are tall, heavily forested mountains. They stand like sentinels protecting us while making room for B.C. longest river, the mighty Fraser, which steadily flows with a greeny gray grace of a water determined to be one with the ocean.
Our two story clapboard house is never quiet. My three older sisters make sure of that. My oldest sister Bonnie is 17 and only comes home to change her clothes and sleep, as her world revolves around school sports, friends and a boy named Dick. Cherie is 15 and loves to read but she also enjoys turning our record player on to its highest setting. Dad often tells her and visiting friends that they are going to wear a hole in the carpet from all her twisting, jiving and doing the monkey. Joni, my sister closest in age to me, was born nine years ago, during a blue baby streak in our neiighbourhood. Needless to say, if she wants to play with her peers, she’s often running in and out looking for her baseball mitt, her frog collecting buckets, or begging our Dad to tweak her go cart, so she can beat the pants off all the boys in the neighbourhood.
I like to play with my dolls. I have two soft bodied baby dolls named Sindy and Suzie. Although they are similar in size, they didn’t look alike at first, until I took my little yellow giraffe scissors and cut off all their hair. Now they are both bald and are twins. Today, I carefully dress them, talking to them about our upcoming adventure. Sindy is in blue and Suzie in pink. With them dressed I put my attention to the drawer built under the stairs. I pull and pull. Wood on wood grinds but finally the drawer opens. My eyes are bright.
This is our treasure drawer.
Dad is so clever. He built a set of stairs at the end of the bedroom I share with Joni. Under these stairs is our special toy drawer. The stairs head up into the attic where Bonnie and Cherie each have a bedroom with sloped ceilings and dormer windows. At the top of the stairs is a little alcove Dad built for himself. It’s his writing space. As I’m drifting off to sleep at night I hear him tapping away on his black underwood typewriter. Deep into the night I hear the typewriter’s rhythmic song, while from the kitchen mom’s Singer sewing machine steadily clicks, remaking hand me down clothes, given to us by our Auntie Lennie.
Every space in our house is used. In our drawer I spy Joni’s baseball cards, her bag of marbles and her neglected Barbie. I’m not allowed to touch it, but my eyes feast on her blonde ponytail and sleek black and white striped bathing suit. I push down my jealous desire and reach instead for the little brown checked suitcase that holds my tea set. After that, I dig out my favourite dress up outfit. I’m getting really good at buttons and zippers and I grin when I successful zip and button myself into my purple silky dress. I like the swishy sound of the fabric against my leg.
Into my little wicker buggy goes my blue and white tea set along with Sindy and Suzie. Then off the end of my bed I tug off the quilt my Grandma Clark made just for me. On each square, a nursery rhyme and picture is embroidered. I’ve now memorized all the words to each rhyme so as I start to push my buggy I sing, “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a big fall, All the King’s horses and all the King’s men, couldn’t put Humpty together again!”
(Below is a picture of the little ceramic Humpty Dumpty man I had for years in my bedroom. I don’t have him any longer but I was able to find a picture of exactly what he looked like)
I push the buggy out into the hall and down to the kitchen where mom is standing at her spot in front of the sink. She turns and asks, “What are you doing Debbie?” “Just taking my babies out for some fresh air.” I say. “Oh that’s nice,” she says, “Let me help you lift the buggy outside.” And she opens our back door and lifts my buggy with all my treasures inside. She places it onto our backyard grass.
I stroll the buggy over to our lilac tree, next to our white picket fence and lay my quilt under the tree. The purple blossoms are starting to fall in snowy drifts and the scent is sweet and pleasant. It’s a perfect place for our tea party. I gently lift the twins and sit them together, leaning against the tree trunk. Carefully I place a tiny teacup and saucer in front of each of them and then place one on the quilt for me too. I pour our pretend tea and then I hear the screen door slam. Mom is coming out with a little bowl. Oh goodie! My face lights up as this will be more than a pretend day. “Here you go miss Debbie,” she says, giving me a small bowl with three date cookies inside. “Thank you,” I say, feeling my best manners are in order. She wipes her hands on her apron, smiles at me with her twinkling green eyes and heads back into the house. The screen door slams again.
We munch on cookies and sip our tea. I look up and see shapes in the fluffy clouds passing by above us. Other than drifting clouds all is still.
Where is everybody? I stand up and start to dance, twirling and lifting my long dress to the music only I hear. Little do I know but in this moment of joy filled silence I’m scattering seeds.
My babies quietly sit on the quilt looking out into the yard.
Fast forward now. It’s decades later. It’s a winter Sunday and my husband David and our three youngest are up at the ski hill for the day. After their noisy, getting ready to ski chaos, our house is blissfully quiet. I’ve spent the day in a state of delicious relaxation; reading my latest library book, relishing in a long hot bath and finally going out for a chilly walk in our neighbourhood. Only a few people pass by, their dog leading the way. Not wanting to break the silence, I only nod and smile as we pass by each other. I get back home feeling peaceful and with the cold still on my face I start brewing some late afternoon tea. It’s steeping when our garage door clicks and rattles open. Moments later David and the kids spill into the kitchen with rosy cheeks and stories of how our son Will’s spectacular wipe out on the run called, “Attridge,” was the epic moment of the day. Everyone laughs. Thankfully no one is hurt. David finally heads to his den and Will to his bedroom. My twin daughters linger in the kitchen. Victoria asks, “what kind of tea are you making?” “Earl Gray,” I say, “Ohhhh, yummy,” she says, “can we make London Fog?” “Yeah! and have a few cookies too,” says Kate, reaching into the newly filled glass cookie jar.
I start pouring three cups of steaming tea, Victoria brings milk, honey and vanilla. Kate brings a plate of cookies to the table. For a moment all is quiet and in that empty space, in that sacred silence, I’m whooshed back to a long remembered tea party. A precious time when seeds were planted.
Two magic seeds. The best seeds are planted in silence and joy!
~The End~
Below, my bald babies born, May 20, 2011, decades after that tea party under the lilac tree. In a little town called, Hope.
Above, Kathryn Mira (R) and Victoria Hope (L)…..inspired by Suzy and Sindy
and below Katie left and Tori right….
Victoria is left above and Kathryn is right…..this is their 1st birthday picture…..my sweet bald babies!!!
And below my babies are growing….Victoria (L) Kathryn (R) Their hair is finally growing, ha….Victoria’s is light brown and curly and Kathryn’s is blonde and straight
Above are a few pictures of Kathryn and Victoria….my sweet twins. Looking at these pictures makes me want to pinch myself because seeing them, having them in my life is a testament to seeds we plant, dreams we dream, visions of what we want in our life…all comes to pass in time. And that’s why it’s so important we plant good seeds. What seeds have you planted that have come to bloom in your garden?
What seeds are you planting now?
And now that you’ve read one of my stories, maybe it’s time for you to write your story. I’d love to hear if the word, “Silence,” inspires something from your past. And speaking of goodness, let’s make some cookies. I hope you enjoy the recipe below. I like to play around with it and add various spices and also top it with different nuts and seeds. Sprinkle it with a bit of icing sugar and it’s a special tea cookie!!!
On this Wintery day it’s the perfect time to make some cookies which will still be warm when my family comes home from the ski hill.
Date Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups chopped dates
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup margarine or butter/softened
1 teaspoon vanilla…also for flavouring I like to use grated orange peel
3 eggs
4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon….this is optional but I like to add warm spices especially for winter baking
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
optional: 1/4 cup icing sugar for dusting
Directions
In medium saucepan, combine dates, 1/2 cup sugar and water. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring occasionally. Cool
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. In large bowl, beat brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; (also orange peel if desired, blend well. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt and spices; mix well.
Stir in date mixture and nuts. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown. (I make my cookies bigger so they take 10 to 12 minutes)
Immediately remove from cookie sheets Yield 6 dozen cookies…optional…sprinkle with icing sugar….Enjoy them with a cup of tea!
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
The scary season is almost upon us. This past weekend, our twin daughter’s, Kathryn and Victoria, decorated our front door with stickers, a homemade creepy spider, a glouish demon that makes spine chilling noises when he’s bumped and to finish the scene, some corn stalks with threads of sticky spider web material, which the girls hope will entice trick or treaters to visit our house this Halloween.
Along with these decorations, a week ago we took the kids to our local pumpkin patch where they found six huge pumpkins. When they came home they scattered them along the path to our front door. As if this weren’t enough, they decided to put on a scary movie (Annabelle) and make a paper mache zombie in our family room.
As they jumped and screamed over the satanic antics in the movie, I was more horrified by the thick glue on their fingers and wondered what my family room was going to look like after they finished their craft project. But seriously, I hope the’re having fun creating these seasonal memories. What really scares me most this season is not the glue from their paper mache zombie getting everywhere, but the upcoming election in the States. After the last election when there was terrible unrest culminating in a riot at the Capital on Januaury 6th, 2020, I’m praying this year’s election will be more peaceful. I can hope can’t I? Along the lines of what scares me, I thought this was the perfect time to share a story from my past. So grab some popcorn, a cup of something spicy and warm and join me as I reminisce and tell a story from my chilidhood.
Maybe this story will prompt a question in your mind too….”What scares YOU?”
“When I was ten, my older sister Cherie and her husband David invited me to come and stay with them for part of the summer in their rented home in Greenwood, B.C.. Greenwood was once a booming mining town at the turn of the century. Copper, silver and even gold were found in that area, and it was once a thriving city. However, in 1970, it was just a sleepy, little community with ancient crumbling homes and remnants from long ago mining activity littering the valley.
(A tiny glimpse of historic downtown Greenwood, B.C.)
Cherie and David’s rented home was on the east hill above the downtown area. It was a tall, skinny Victorian with faded and peeling paint. It had seen better days. I’ll never forget how excited I was to see inside for the first time. “Cherie,” I said, “can I explore?” She laughed and said, “explore away.” Like a curious kitten I leaped from room to room. In the foyer, there was a steep, narrow stairway heading upstairs. Off to the right was the living room, which ran the length of the house. Cherie’s talent for decorating made this area feel cozy, with brightly painted second hand furniture and on the big comfy couch was a large, colourful throw. Some of Cherie’s paintings and sketches, an eclectic mix, hung on the walls or were leaning against them, making the room feel like an art studio. A well worn black, wooden rocking chair was in one corner.
The old fashion kitchen was off to the left, and while the simple white cabinets and appliances weren’t exciting, Cherie had placed a vase of wild flowers in the middle of the kitchen table, making the room feel welcoming. Off the kitchen, to the back of the house, was another room. When I entered, a icy blast of air made me shiver. Non descript, dungy wallpaper was pasted on every wall but was peeling at every seam. At one time it must have been a pretty room, as a large window looked out over an overgrown and weedy perennial garden. The room was starkly empty, except for one small, gold framed picture hanging on the wall near the door. Peering closely I saw it was an ancient picture of a dour faced Saint. Perhaps Russian in style, as the colours although faded, were bright blues and reds. A faint halo glowed around the Saint’s sad face. As I stood looking at this picture, goosebumps rose on my arms and a dank smell grew stronger. There was something not right in this room. I didn’t linger there long.
I never entered this room again.
The first morning I was there, David left for work and Cherie asked, “Debbie, do you want some granola?” While Corn Flakes were my latest obsession, I wanted to appear grown up so I told her, “Yeah, tha’d be cool.” Munching on the oats, seeds and nuts, Cherie poured herself a cup of coffee and then casually walked across the kitchen to the back room door. Pulling it closed she shared over her shoulder, “Since we don’t need this room, we try to keep the door closed.” I just nodded my head as that made sense, but later that morning when I went to the kitchen for a snack, I noticed the door was half opened. Before leaving the kitchen, I nervously went over and quickly shut the door. That was a regular occurrence; one of us would close the door and then later mysteriously it would open.
My favourite activity that summer was drawing in the sketch pad Cherie had given me. I would sit on the big comfy couch in the living room experimenting with the charcoal sketching pencils and oil pastels she had encouraged me to try, while Cherie painted at the other end of the room, where she’d set up her easel. One afternoon, she joined me on the couch and while she played her guitar and quietly sang, I sketched. In our comfortable companionship we were relaxed and feeling at ease, until the air in the room suddenly shifted.
My eyes popped open when the rocking chair started moving. I looked to see if the curtains were fluttering but there was no breeze in the room. I glanced at Cherie to see if she’d noticed too but she appeared to be acting normal. Unconcerned, she just uncrossed her legs, stood up and put her guitar down and then asked if I wanted to go for a walk to get an ice cream. Once outside, walking in the sun I let my shoulders drop. I never asked Cherie if she had sensed the energy changing in the room or witnessed the rocking chair creaking back and forth. Looking back at the summer and being with my big sister, I think I wanted to be treated older. Also, knowing her to be super sensitive, I’m sure she picked up on the ghostly energy in that house, but she obviously didn’t want to draw attention to it and scare me. Although we never talked about it, we had an unspoken code;
if we didn’t say anything, maybe it’d go away.
But it didn’t.
The ultimate scare happened in the depths of darkness one night nearing the end of my visit. Normally a deep sleeper, I suddenly woke with the feeling that someone was standing beside my bed. I never opened my eyes and I couldn’t yell for Cherie and David, who were just sleeping in the next room to me. I was absolutely frozen. I didn’t even pull the covers over my head. I was terrified of whatever was standing beside me. I knew I had to pretend to remain asleep and hoped whatever was there would finally leave. After a few minutes, the feeling of being watched left me. I never felt comfortable in that room again and I hated going to bed.
That summer I discovered it wasn’t just Cherie and David’s house that was haunted. One day Cherie and I took a tour of the historic Greenwood Courthouse, which at the turn of the century had served as the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the County Court for the Southern County of Yale. From that court, there had been many judicial proceedings, which included several death by hanging sentences being pronounced, as a result of murders in the area. At the time of our visit, it was being used as a musuem, where one could tour around at ones leisure.
During our self guided tour, we admired the extensive use of glowing cedarwood and stain glass works in the actual courtroom, where an old musty smell of leather and books was prevalent. Other than being impressed by the rich formality of it all, I didn’t feel anything unusual until we started heading down the cement stairs to where the jail had held prisoners. It was then I started feeling a heavy presence. With each step the air grew thicker along with the lack of light. My heart was thudding loudly in my chest when we peered into one of the cold jail cells and it was then I heard a sound of shuffling followed by a distant cry. I don’t know if Cherie heard it too but I know she shared my anxiousness because we didn’t remain in that basement long. I couldn’t climb those stairs fast enough. What a tremendous relief I felt to get out of that building.
There were so many fun moments that summer with Cherie and David but when it was time for me to leave, I was rather glad. I think I’d been holding my breath the whole time, worried I’d actually see something I didn’t want to.
Sometimes, not seeing anything, but knowing it’s there is scarier. “
BOO!!!!….and now, my dear readers, that is “The End”
Did you like my ghost story?
Did it make you think of things that have scared you? Or are scaring you?
Like this crazy time on earth when we seem to be battling against moving into the 5th dimension and so many fearful souls are trying to keep us back from progressing as we evolve into more loving humans. Now THAT’S a big scare to me. But we are getting there. I’m sure of it and I’m trusting that in the upcoming U.S. Election voices will unite and goodness will prevail. The only thing haunting me now is wondering what we have to endure over the next few years until everyone gets onboard. I’m concerned because the path the Americans choose will impact the world and certainly us here in Canada.
I was thinking this morning that what we are going through is a bit like moving out of that haunted house into the sunlight.
Hold onto Hope. Hold onto Joy!!!
Before I close this post though I want to share my Pumpkin Cookie recipe. At the beginning of last summer, (in time for our oldest son Clark’s wedding) our second oldest son Mitchell came home from Australia and introduced us to his partner Bec. It wasn’t easy for me saying goodbye to Mitchell five years ago, when he decided to move to Australia but deep down I knew an adventure was waiting for him. I also had a feeling that he would meet more of his people while there. You know, it’s hard to say goodbye to a child, even once he’s grown up, but letting kids go out into the world means you’ve done your job well. (this is what I tell myself) It means you’ve created global citizens who are strong and independent. Also, you never know how they will touch the world and who they will meet along the way. That’s why I was so excited to meet Bec. She’s everything I wanted in a partner for Mitchell; loving, kind, thoughtful, and intelligent. Getting to know her reminds me we have family all over the world, we just don’t know their names.
(Above, My beloved son Mitchell and beautiful Bec)
One thing I learned about Bec is that she loves pumpkin pie. Also, recently she asked Mitchell to see if I had any pumpkin cookie recipes and lo and behold, do cats meow? (she loves cats too) YES, I do. Shortly after he asked me about the pumpkin cookie recipe I whipped up a batch and took a few pictures.
So Bec, this post is dedicated to you.
Sorry it’s coming a bit late but Halloween season is pumpkin season here in Canada. I don’t know if you will appreicate the scary part of this post or not, but I hope you are able to try out this recipe and tell me what you think. Maybe you can tweak it a bit and make it your own. This is after all how the best recipes evolve, as do our families.
To all my other blogging family and friends, thanks for visiting today. As the season of scare unfolds, I hope you will join me in sending love out into the world. While we munch on pumpkin cookies and a few Halloween treats remember, we can do anything and we are stronger together.
And if you want to stay around to make some pumpkin cookies with me, steep another cup of tea or brew some more coffee and join me in the kitchen. Let’s make some…..
Hope’s Pumpkin Cookies
This is an “easy peasy” recipe as you just mix all the wet together first, mix the dry together together second and then add the dry to the wet and mix until well combined….I use my mixer but this is an easy recipe to whip up with a good wooden spoon and spatula.
This cookie batter will be very moist and does need a long time to cook to firm up but the cookie is lovely and soft…mouth watering.
Preheat the Oven to 375 degrees….get out a cookie sheet…ungreased or use a piece of parchment paper…see below, btw..we grew that pumpkin on the stool! I threw some seeds randomly in the garden and grew 3 pumpkins.
Ingredients
11/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 can of pumpkin (15 ounces) (Notice in the picture I used a large tin…I use the left overs to make pumpkin lattes….yummy!)
Optional: 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of walnuts…. deluxe! Place a large piece of walnut on top as a garnish
Drop teaspoon size cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet and cook for 12 to 15 minutes at 375 degrees.
Let cool for a few minutes and then place on cooling racks. While still warm I sprinkle the cookie with icing sugar and then comes the BEST PART…….eat with someone you LOVE!
Happy Halloween
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessings from Hope
Above is a picture snapped when Mitchell and Bec were visiting….it’s the family hug we do…but you are right there with us…we are all family!!!
I feel like I’m always telling my kids to go one step further. Go above and beyond. Take the intuitive and yes, while it may not your job, or chore, or responsibility, it will touch someone and that is where the worth comes in. Don’t we want to help others while we are here?
Because that small thing we do can change the world.
The story below illustrates my point beautifully.
A man was asked to paint a boat. He brought his paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner had asked him.While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it. When he finished painting, he received his money and left.The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice cheque, much higher than the payment for painting. The painter was surprised and said “You’ve already paid me for painting the boat Sir!”“But this is not for the paint job. It’s for repairing the hole in the boat.”“Ah! But it was such a small service… certainly it’s not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant.”“My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened:
When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole. When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip.They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time.When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole. Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing. Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole! You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your ‘small’ good deed.
”So no matter who, when or how, continue to help, sustain, wipe tears, listen attentively, and carefully repair all the ‘leaks’ you find. You never know when one is in need of us, or when that care and kindness may return to you in surprising ways. Along the way, you may have repaired numerous ‘boat holes’ for several people without realizing how many lives you’ve saved.
Make a difference….be the best you…
I hope my kids are reading this post.
Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Last fall my winter goal was to start pulling together my memoir. I’ve been writing pieces of it with my writing group for the last six years and I thought I was ready to piece it together but it just didn’t happen. Sometimes I think, like making good soil from compost, a bit more decomposition is required. What I did instead this winter was read. I read a lot. I read a variety of books, everything from my passion for gardening to historical novels. I read many of Bernard Cornwall’s books from the 9th to 10th century when the Vikings were raiding the Saxons in what would become England. I then watched the Netflix series, “The Last Kingdom,” based on Cornwall’s novels. I quickly moved onto watching the complete “Viking,” series too. I can’t believe I was able to read or watch stories from that time period, as the violence was so intense. Often I had to close my eyes while watching the shows but that’s hard to do when you read a book and I’m not one of those people who skips over words. If the author feels those words are important for the story, then I’m going to read them. As hard as they are to take in. I’m funny that way.
Shortly after I saw the library’s recommendation, I was listening to CBC radio and “Canada Reads 2022,” books were announced and once again the title, “Five Little Indians,” was brought up. That was it! The Universe was telling me not once, but twice to pick up this book and I try to follow those intuitive signals as I know there is something I need to learn. I immediately put the book on hold at our local library. I was thrilled when I was finally able to collect it a few weeks ago but it just sat on my “to be read” shelf for the first two and a half weeks. I wanted to read it but Russia had just invaded Ukraine and I didn’t know how much emotional energy I had for taking in more horror. Finally, when my library warned me that I only had a few more days to read the book before it would become overdue, I started reading it.
And I didn’t put it down.
The story is about five adult survivors , Lucy, Kenny, Maisie, Clara, and Howie, from the Mission Indian Residential School, on Vancouver Island and takes place in the “60’s. I worried that the flashbacks of their time living in the Residential School’s would be more than I could take and although what they experienced was horrific to say the least, the author, Michelle Good, wrote their stories developing a clear voice for each character brilliantly, but in such a way that it was emotionally readable. Does that make any sense? After reading her eloquent story I feel shaken in my ability to string even few words together that make any sense. I did cry through most of the book, but I also was lifted by their resilience to survive and even take steps to heal.
Halfway through the book the stories of the survivors started weaving in and out of each other’s lives and that propelled me to read even quicker to the end as I wanted to know how she would wrap it up. I mean, could there be a good ending to such a story? Is there a possible good ending after a childhood had been ripped away from these people? How could anything good come after all the pain and horror for the characters or their families? I won’t tell you more but this book left me crying, and smiling and I’m so glad that I finally had the courage to read it. After I finished the last page I went out into my garden, tears moistening the soil, and I just started pulling apart my dead perennials. I’d been putting off this chore as it’s never fun to clean up all the old dead stuff in the garden but after reading that last page, I felt empowered and hopeful…..but still so incredibly sad too. ‘Cause I know this is still happening all over the world…hatred, racism, hypocrisy…when will humans wake up?
While this is a fiction work, I understand that the experiences of the survivors is an accurate representation of what occurred for the Resident School survivors. I understand that Michelle Good’s own mom was one. For me, it was a deeply informative piece of literature and I now see why Ms. Good won the 2020 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and was long listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in Canada. And now is on the short list for the Canada Reads list as well.
I’m not going to go any further into critiquing this story but I have to leave you with this one thought, “have you ever read a book where you feel like you want the characters to stay in your life? to become your friends? to become your family?….or for you even to keep reading about how their lives evolve? Those are the BEST books aren’t they? Those books touch our soul and become part of us. I’m so glad I read this book late this winter, as it’s now part of my heart.
If you want to listen to CBC’s Booked VPL with Michelle Good, check out the below;
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
This morning I woke in the wee hours pounding my pillow and crying, “no, no, no.” I’m sure I wasn’t alone. All over the world people are pleading for this Russian invasion on Ukraine to stop. As if we haven’t experienced enough heart ache in the world over the past two years dealing the Covid 19 pandemic, this is like another nightmare that we can’t understand or wake from.
In the last three weeks I’ve been travelling “within” a lot. I’ve been meditating and seeking answers to some life questions. I’ve been letting go of many as well and just trying to live in the moment. I thought I was preparing myself to reemerge this spring, like a butterfly from its’ chrysalis, after a long sleep, but I see now that I needed to build my inner reserves as our world has been shaken once again as Russian cruelly invades Ukraine. It’s a war none of us wanted to deal with in the world.
And yet it is here.
What helps me deal with the horrific stories I see in the news as the Ukrainian people stand and fight for their land, is my spiritual belief that we are “all” spirits who have come to earth to live a human experience. After I read Caroline Myss’s book, “Sacred Contracts,” more than ten years ago, I further adopted the belief, which resonates with my soul. I believe that before coming to earth, our spirit chooses an archetype role we will play during our human existence. (the following is a glimpse into Caroline Myss’s teachings regarding Archetype energy) If you want to delve deeper into her teachings and are interested in the Archetypes we choose to be, check out her book. “Scared Contracts.”
Knowing that each of us makes a conscious choice on the role we will take once on earth has helped me see the bigger picture at play. Often it is the roles between good and evil and we learn from each other as we play the roles. Until we evolve as a species these roles will continue to manifest. Thankfully we are starting to wake up and become spiritually conscious, but if you wonder why we are still seeing so much anger, fear and hatred in the world, that is the last gasps of lower energy archetypes acting out. The Russian leader, whom I will not name as I don’t want to give him any more power, is in my opinion playing the evil archetype. His vibration is low, dark and obviously little light gets into his social awareness. It’s hard to believe this is the role he chose and even harder for me to remember that he too is a beloved spirit. Having this awareness helps me to look at him and his actions with the broader picture in mind and remember that his actions are teaching us and helping us move closer towards the light. But even if you can understand him from a spirit connection I think the question everyone in the world is asking is, “how can we overcome someone like this?”After all we are here in the human form and our role is to act. I believe the answer is quite simple.
Shut out the darkness with love.
Become a beacon of light shining brightly in your part of the world. If enough of us fill the world with light and love, how can darkness reside? We will overcome that darkness. How can we do this in practical terms? We can start each day with the intention to be kind and considerate towards others. Those in our own circles. Fill everyone you meet with gratitude for their existence. Sometimes this is simply a thank you….or a smile. This is a good time to up our random acts of kindness towards our neighbours. Take your neighbours garbage can back to their house at the end of the day or drop some muffins off at their doorstep with a note that you appreciate having them as your neighbour. You know even something as little as when you are driving in your car, look for opportunities to be kind on the road; yield to others, recognizing you see them. Let them merge in front of you kindly. Drive consciously.
Another big one is finding something that brings you joy each day and authentic light will fill up around you and you will glow for everyone to see. You may wonder how you can be joy filled when there is so much horror going on in Ukraine and other parts of the world? The thing is, by living in fear and worry, only gives more energy to the darkness. Live in a place of light, love and joy and be like Ukraine’s national flower……
Other practical things you can do right now is to donate money. The Red Cross Ukraine was our first organization to contribute to. Another good organization I found when I heard the actor and philanthropist, Ryan Reynolds was matching up to a million dollars in donations, was to the United Nations Refugee Agency. When I see women, children and the elderly fleeing Ukraine, I can easily get behind this organization. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money but if we all give something it will become a BIG contribution. When I heard that people from all over the world were also booking Airbnb stays in the Ukraine with no intention of travelling but only wanting to put some money in Ukrainian people’s pockets, it made me cry.
There is so much goodness in the world. And if you are coming to my blog I know you are a big piece of that as I attract like minded people. We are limitless in how brilliant we can shine. Take my hand and join me in taking a deep breath now. Let it fill up your heart field. Connect with your soul energy and as you exhale, let it cover the earth with your light.
We can all be the beacon of light the world needs now. What role are you going to choose to take? I loved this video below as this one brave woman brought some light to the world around her….it made me want to shine brighter and sing too! “Lean on Me.”
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful. Shine On!
Although February is the shortest month of the year, it can also be a month that drags on and on. I guess that is why so many of us plan trips to warmer climes this time of year. We restore our reservoir of Vitamin D, take off a few layers of clothing and lighten our spirit. We travel to places that give us a different perspective so when we come home, the lens through which we view life is clearer. (Oh, and don’t we appreciate our own bed all the more!)
While away, many of us immerse ourselves in other cultures, experience exotic foods and tour around historic places. When we return from our trip, we experience the joy once again by sharing stories and memories with friends and family. All too soon, however, our relaxed holiday vibe evaporates into the ether of every day life and our adventure experience is packed away, gathering dust, like our suitcase.
I think for many of us right now, we travel to escape this pandemic too. A part of our brain still hasn’t processed this crazy reality we are experiencing and we think if we can just get away, when we come back it will be gone. Or at least more bearable. The thing is there is no escape. This event is happening globally and I believe it’s the shift and shove our world needs in order for us all to embark on the greatest adventure of our lives.
Doesn’t the GREATEST adventure sound EXCITING?
Maybe you have already been on this trip???
You don’t have to pack a swim suit or ensure your travel vaccinations are all up to date. You don’t have to find someone to care for your pets, or ask your neighbour to keep an eye out on your house. However, you will need to pack a new perspective. Trust me, it’s one that will change all of our lives. Look at this time in history as a portal to creating a richer life. Are you wondering what I’m talking about? The inspiring writer and poet, Rainier Maria Rilke, offered this sage advice more than 100 years ago. His words resonates still, as truth with stands the ages.
And no travel agent is required.
If you’ve ever sat in solitude for any length of time, or walked outside with only the birds as your companions, you will have experience the gateway to the journey within. It’s where spirit meets us and takes us to a place of limitless space and time. A place of peace. While we are there we may want all answers to our questions but;
Rilke also reminds us to:
That’s exciting to me…living the questions. Experiencing them all…even the pain, the terror, the uncomfortable moments on the journey. The best trips in life have a little bit of everything in them after all. Have you ever snorkelled for the first time and had water fill your mask?
Guess what? More and more of us are taking that trip. We see this time in history as an opportunity for a major shift in collective consciousness and we are uniting together increasing the energy vibration full of light and love. And where does love come from? Our truest nature; our spirit, our soul, call it what you will. Our eyes are open and there is no turning back. It’s a good thing too because our Earth needs us all to come together, not just for the sake of humanity, but for the climate crisis happening which will impact us all.
If you haven’t jumped on this bandwagon but are interested, you may be asking yourself?
How do I embark on such a trip within? The cool things is you can jump right into the depths of this journey with a daily meditation practice or some soulful time on a yoga mat. Not for you, you say? Well try this then. One very simple thing you can do happens first thing in the morning. Instead of groaning when your alarm beeps and letting the problems or worries of the day over take you, take a lovely deep breath. Fill your lungs and then slowly breathe out through your nose. As you are taking that first breath of the day, whisper, “good morning,” to your spirit. Wiggle your fingers and your toes, stretch your body and whisper, “thank you!” You have another glorious day ahead of you and now as you take another breath, set an intention for the day. What would you like to focus on? How do you want to walk your path today? What do you want to experience?
The trip within starts with awareness.
Will loving kindness be your guide? How about sprinkling some compassion throughout your day? The funniest thing happens when my intention is to be gentle on myself. My day starts slowly. No rushing. I’m conscious of my breath. I’m not yelling at my kids to wake up but by gently rubbing their backs and whispering, “good morning,” into their ears. As my day starts to unfold I’m conscious not to fill it with too many expectations. If I have already filled my calendar, I edit the least important obligations.
The weirdest thing happens on these days. When I’m back in bed later that night, counting my blessings and ready to close my eyes, I realize that the day ended up being incredibly productive. A day of gentleness ended up being a day when I accomplished more than I would have otherwise. It often is a day full of joy, creative moments, time with myself and time with my loved ones. Maybe I’ve even reached outside our immediate circle and spread some love and encouragement to others. By starting the day asking for gentleness to come, I allowed my spirit to guide me and what came were the same feelings I experience on a good holiday or trip; joy and peace.
And I never left home!
Hmmmmm…..
I have a few other tips on things to do while getting ready for the greatest adventure but I wanted to share something I’m doing this month to get away. It might intrigue you too…
This Friday, February 11th, 2022, I’m starting another adventure with spirit. I’m taking my second, “Foundations of Mediumship and Channeling,” course and I’m SOOOO excited to connect with my spirit team and work with them on a daily basis. If you want to hear more about it, check out this YouTube video and ask yourself, “does this resonate with my spirit?” Is this a trip that I want to take or experience? Since connecting with spirit is all about love…this is my Valentine’s gift to myself. Here’s more about the upcoming course and I’m plugging it on behalf of my daughter who is in the process of building her business as a spiritual teacher and guide. I’m so proud of her!!! She has always been one of my biggest teachers in life.
If it excites you, then I invite you to join me on this journey. But remember, the journey within starts with yourself and if you are new at taking this sort of trip, here are a few tips and some background on what prompted me on this trip of a lifetime.
A bit over twenty years ago, I started on a journey that resulted in a major spiritual awakening. While trying to conceive one more child to complete our family who was not coming through as easily as the ones I gave birth to in my 30’s, I started taking some life style changing steps that eventually allowed me to expand my consciousness and manifest my soul baby….and another three! (I had never dreamed I would be a mom to eight children, four of them born after I was 40!) Many people view having children as a biological act but in order for me to bring these last children to earth, I had to travel deep within myself and touch the divine. They are the magical manifestations from that long, ten year trip. Oh But WHAT a TRIP!!!
What are you trying to manifest in your life? Whatever it is, I’m going to share the secret now. Are you ready? The key to bringing whatever you desire into your reality is that you must have laser focus/a dream or intention on whatever it is you want. That desire is going to be thrumming in your brain. Then you have to trust that somehow your dream will come true. You may find that you are working really hard and doing everything you can to bring that dream to fruition but things just aren’t flowing for you. You have to trust that magic is happening behind the scenes and the timing may not be right yet. The last key I’m passing to you is the most important of all. Can you guess what it is? “Surrender.” You simply let go. Yep, that’s it….dream it,trust that it will come and then let it go! And after you have done those three magic things, you can play at the following and watch incredible events and experiences happen in your life.
Note: You can do the following in any order. Start incorporating them slowly and your perspective will start to shift. You will start noticing signs that you are not alone, and things will start happening in your life that will allow whatever you have been waiting for to manifest.
Ready? Here are some suggestions as you take that trip within.
Declutter! Years ago I took a course at our local College on the art of Feng Shui and spent a whole winter reading everything I could find on the topic. That winter, I went room by room and decluttered the things that were no longer serving us any longer. By spring time I had created a space for our family full of peace and calm. Decluttering is a constant process and once you start you will find it doesn’t end just with your physical belongings but will spread out into all areas of your life. After I decluttered our home, I started letting go of toxic relationships and anything that was not supporting my journey.
2. Start taking care of your physical body. Eat whole food, eliminate white sugar, flour and anything processed. Buy a juicer or a really great blender, and start your day with a veggie juice each morning. Stretch and start moving your body. Build a stronger core. When we start feeling better physically, we will sleep deeper and we’ll have more energy for what we want in life. I started practising yoga and found connecting with my breath while sitting on my yoga mat brought me quickly to spirit. Having a yoga practise that starts and ends with some meditation is life changing! Plus having balance, flexibility, strength and endurance all helped me walk my daily path.
3. Get outside and connect with earth’s energy Turn off your phone, kick off your shoes if you can and touch the ground with your bare feet. Sit against a tree and feel it’s roots ground you. Allow the magic of nature to find you. Since I’m a gardener, digging in the earth daily, playing with plants and working with our trees and bushes restores me three seasons of the year in my climate. If you only have an apartment invite some plants into your home. If you have a deck or patio, start growing some herbs, and vegetables. Our earth heals us and brings us to ourselves!
4. Start noticing what you are thinking? Power your thoughts with positive self affirmations. Examine your belief system. Read, learn, follow your intuition and allow it to be your teacher. I find that judgments are always flitting to the surface of my brain and I have to gently remind myself, “it’s all good!” We are human so this will happen. Being conscious is the key. Being loving while on our path is the most important thing we can do.
5. Find a few mantras that keep you on your path. Trust and let go was mine throughout the years we were trying to conceive our last four children. It reminded me that there is something bigger than myself at work. It also allowed the Universe to provide what I needed for a more enlightened life. Listen within. You spirit will tell you the words to chant. Be your biggest cheerleader!!!
6. Start a gratitude journal or a gratitude jar. At the end of the day, write down three things that you are grateful for, or things that happened to you during the day that helped to guide you on your path. When you start this practise, you will be heightened to all sorts of things that happen in your life that you never noticed before. Also, when you start being actively thankful for gifts, more will come. Before you know it, you will be writing down five and then ten things in your journal each day. Watch joy start being your constant companion through a gratitude practice. We have a gratitude jar in our kitchen and during the year we fill it up with little pieces of paper full of grateful moments. On New Year’s Eve, we take turns reading out the notes and afterwards we take them all outside and burn them in a pot, sitting in the magical white snow. It’s been a fun tradition for our family and I believe it’s teaching our children to look around them and be conscious of all the wondrous things put on their path each day. We are soooo blessed!
That’s it.
That’s my list of suggestions for your upcoming trip. What’s really exciting is when you start working on one or two of the above, things start to really roll. For instance, when you start exercising outside, eating well, sleeping peacefully, you may have energy to add some sun salutations on your yoga mat in the morning. And this will make you feel even more inspired so you will then head into your kitchen and fill your juicer with yummy veggies to provide your liver some added support. If you have been looking for a yoga beginner, sun salutations practice, check out this YouTube video. (Just thinking of it now makes my backs and legs and arms, want a good stretch!) Namaste!
Thank you Ashton! And you didn’t even have to leave your house!!!
I have one more link that you may find useful as you prepare for the trip of your lifetime. Earlier this year, I discovered Suzanne Guismann. She is a mystic, medium, spiritual teacher and get this, a former military officer in the U.S. She provides evidence based, aha moments, so if you are skeptical of people being able to connect with spirit and hesitant to start packing for your own trip, then she may blow your socks off. She’s currently offering a free, on line course called: 3 Keys to Unlock Your Powers of Mediumship. Learn more about it: here.
I also want to give you a link to a few of her free guided meditation sessions. They are at the bottom of her “gifts” page. There is a 10 minute clearing chakra meditation and then the one I love, is called, “Making the Connection.” In just twenty minutes allow peace to find you. (click on those hyper links to find the “gifts” page and then scroll down for the free guided meditations)
And I have one more quote by Rilke for you because you are so LOVED! The Universe wants you to tap into everything that is waiting for you.
Well my dear friends and family, I feel like I’ve written another novella type post. It’s hard not to go on and on and want to share the magical journey of travelling within. It’s simply life changing and I know I’m not alone. So many people are shifting their perspective and becoming more spirit driven. Filling our world with more light is always a good thing so, “Shine On” my dear ones and journey well.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Some days I feel, “but a drop” in this bigger reality we call life. Drifting aimlessly through my days of being a mother and wife. And then some days the vastness of my being blows me away. The piece below was inspired by a prompt my writing friend, Akira suggested for our writing group. “Beginnings and Endings, Endings and Beginnings, Beginnings and Endings again.”
I hope you like it and it gets you thinking about where you are in your reality. Where are any of us REALLY?
“The mountains gave birth to me. In the beginning I was only a trickle of melted snow but I grew bigger when drops of moisture fell off the great evergreen trees encircling me. Spring rains filled me up and I started running with glee down hill where I eventually joined a bubbling stream. What a happy time it was, gurgling over rocks and leaves. Once a soft brown eyed deer drank deeply from me and hidden silently in the bushes was her spotted fawn. Only I saw her.
I started picking up more speed and realized I was now part of a frosty creek. As we moved along, other streams arrived and they became my kindred spirits. We laughed and danced moving with ease and flow when suddenly a distant roar entered our peaceful forest.
The trees on the bank were moving swiftly past me and the loud noise became deafening, like a hundred lions lay ahead. Without any warning I flew with my friends through the air, falling, falling, so rapidly we fell that I lost all feeling and thought of myself. A crash brought me to my senses and I found myself in a dark green pool floating easily and gently downstream. Warm sun made me feel lazy and relaxed.
For a long while I allowed myself to be carried away until I noticed the landscape around me had changed. The trees were thinning and the land beside me was rich and green. Black and white spotted cows munched on thick blades of grass in the pasture beside me and in the distance I saw a bright red barn with crisp white trim. There was much to see now as I travelled along and I kept my eyes wide open.
I felt big and strong and realized I was no longer a creek, I had become part of a mighty river with a mind of its own. The powerful current moved so rapidly that I found I had to hold onto myself at first and then I flew over some boulders and joined the white waters full of froth and fun. I let go and became interwoven with something greater than myself. Suddenly, I felt an awareness of beings connected to all things.
My senses grew sharper. My vision became crisper and clearer and my ears picked up the smallest nuance of sound. Everything was alive. I marvelled over the wooden and then steel bridges we travelled under. What feat of engineering created those I wondered? Cars and trucks too numerous to count flew by me on the nearby highway and floating all around were all types of boats; motor boats, barges, even a little ferry.
People too were in every place I looked. On the shore I spied a little boy fishing with an old man. One so small with brown hair sticking out from under his baseball cap, and the other tall, bent over and wizened but between them brilliant sparks flew as they laughed over the little fish the boy had caught. Oh how delightful this world is, I thought.
Around the next bend I had to blink a few times to focus on the impressive sight. A mass of buildings covered the whole landscape. Many of them were so tall they seemed to touch the sky and like castle sentinels they welcomed me to come closer. I couldn’t take it all in; the people, the cars, trucks, boats and the buildings, were all so much more than I had ever imagined in this world. It seemed like a lifetime ago when I was just a drop in the stillness of the mountains.
All too soon my river slowed and I had time to observe people on colourful houseboats. One woman was watering bright red geraniums in terracotta pots. Some people walked dogs of all shapes and sizes on the paved pathways beside me and some sat in quiet contemplation on rocky beaches, their bench a long uprooted tree.I noticed some seemed happy and others sad. What brought those emotions I wondered.
In deep reflection of all I’d seen I was brought up to the top of the surface with a start. I was changing in colour and texture. No longer was I part of a clear river, but instead had changed into a cloudy grey and there was a salty heaviness slowing me down. How strange to experience so many transformations and yet feel exactly the same. And as I was thinking this, without any warning, I left my river behind and flowed into the endless ocean.
The end of my journey had come.
Or had it?”
We are all but drops. But the point is, “we are!”
and we are not alone!
Until we meet again I hope the love and light of February fills your soul until it bubbles over.
~A successful garden, full of abundance includes diversity of plants, where no weeds thrive~ Lee Reynolds
Thanks for coming to visit my blog today. While I want to chat about harvesting garlic, sharing my strawberry shortcake recipe and growing a productive raspberry patch, there are weeds of racism growing all over the world and I can stand by and be silent no longer; it’s time for me to grab my hoe and start weeding….and sharing my thoughts. What better place than here at Hope’s Homestead. So welcome, grab a glass of ice tea and pull up a chair and stay awhile.
While our kids have been out of school, in isolation, during this COVID-19 global pandemic, we’ve been reading books as a family. After our children’s evening bath and donning of jammies, we settle into our favourite chair in the living room, pull up our softest quilt and take turns reading. Sounds lovely doesn’t it? Except the books we’re reading, fill our living room with a heavy sadness, and with each book, a bit of our children’s innocence fades.
We’re reading stories from the Second World War, shining a light on the atrocities of that time, when six million Jewish people were exterminated. Books like, “Number the Stars,” by Lois Lowry, and “Anne Frank; The Diary of a Young Girl,” take us back to a darker time in history.
Currently, we are glued to the book, “Refugee,” by Alan Gratz. It tells a story of three different children, living in three separate eras, who are all trying to escape war. We haven’t finished it yet but the back cover implies that although “Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud,” are separated by continents and decades, surprising connections will tie their stories together in the end.
You may be wondering why I’m exposing our children to such books, when there are kinder, gentler genres to read. What I hope my children will pick up after reading these books, is how fortunate they are to live in Canada, where there is excellent health care and education opportunities. I want them to be grateful for all they have been given. I also want them to learn to chant, something that started after Nazi Germany, systemically murdered two thirds of Europe’s Jewish people, during the Second World War. I want “never again,” to be on my children’s lips and in their hearts.
Never Again!
Yet here we are again, in the shadows of this COVID-19 pandemic, the crack against people of colour and racial minorities has split open, triggered by the unjust killing of a black man, George Floyd, who was held down by the neck, under the knee of a white police officer for eight minutes, until he died. In the wake of that murder, another black man, Rayshard Brooks, was shot in the back and killed, while running away from another white police officer.
These deaths come after centuries of systemic violence against racially discriminated black people. In the current climate, where the world has stopped spinning, due to this global pandemic, our eyes are fully opened and if we weren’t aware of what was occurring before, we are now heightened to it. There is no going back.
The crack has been opened.
Never again has to be our chant.
And it’s not just illuminating the plight of black people. Here in Canada, it’s our Indigenous peoples who are the minority and have faced discrimination, ever since Europeans started settling on their land three hundred years ago.
As a white person, I can no longer stand by and do nothing. If we don’t tug on the weeds of hatred and eradicate them, what occurred during the Second World War to the Jewish people, will happen again to the black people, to our First Nations people, or to any racial minority.
What action can I take? On the weekend, I finally decided that I would start writing and a story unfolded. Here is that fictional story inspired by the light my Grandma brought to the world…and to me:
My maternal grandmother, Hulda, loved to pull weeds. She had a large vegetable garden behind her white house, on Mt. Lehman Road, in Abbotsford. While visiting her one summer day, with a twinkle in her eye she asked, “Debbie, do you want to come and see the butterflies?” Excited for an adventure, I stopped cutting families, from the Sears Catalogue, and grabbed her outstretched hand. Once down the back stairs, she picked up a rusty old garden hoe, which had been leaning against the house and as we walked swinging our arms, she pointed out interesting things on our path;
the brilliant, iridescent wings of a dragonfly, the peaceful dance of a swallow tail butterfly and the bright, chirping of a cricket, in the tall meadow grass, bordering the garden.
She looked down at me and said, “each creature has its own beauty and purpose on the earth.”
Once at the garden, she pulled a little teaspoon from her magic apron pocket and directed me to the row of carrots, where she invited me to dig and enjoy. While I sat cross legged, munching on a freshly dug carrot, she stood surveying the garden with a gentle smile on her lips. Perhaps she was taking a moment to appreciate the garden’s abundance, or maybe she was deciding where to start weeding.
Finally, she started rhythmically hoeing between rows in the garden; loosening the soil and exposing the roots of weeds. As she moved along the row and her wake of weeds grew bigger, her smile got softer and she started to hum. The haunting strains of “Amazing Grace,” rode on the breeze and was carried out beyond the garden, on the wings of butterflies.
I was crunching a crisp bean pod, when she asked if I was ready to go in for tea. Always hungry, I jumped up and followed her. She had her arms full of weeds with dirt still clinging to them. Before we went in the house, she dropped the weeds onto a large compost pile at the edge of the garden. “Why are you throwing the weeds in that pile and not in the garbage?” I asked. She smiled at me and said, “Everything has a purpose Debbie, and weeds turn into great soil, which will make my garden even better next year.”
Afternoon tea time was my favourite time of day at Grandma’s. Whoever was visiting would congregate around Grandma’s large kitchen table. The adults would drink coffee or tea and grandma would pour some fizzy orange pop for me. She would lay out cheese, butter, bread and always a big plate of baked goods. There was a place for everyone at Grandma’s table. She would then settle in her rocking chair and as it creaked back and forth, our family would drift into a gentle conversation, filling the kitchen with a peaceful comfort.
It’s a funny thing about writing, but often as the words pour out of me, answers to my questions appear. (I think Grandma visited me in my dreams on the weekend) I now know what I can do in light of all the racial unrest in the world right now.
I can tend my garden. I can dig up my own weeds. I can provide a place for everyone at my table and teach my children to appreciate the purpose and beauty in all things .
Even the weeds.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Before I say goodbye, I thought I would include a great video that I watched on June 21st, which was National Indigenous Day. As a white person, I can hold a light for the voices of Black people, Indigenous people and other racial minorities. It’s not a lot, but if we all start with ourselves, providing a peaceful place for them to be heard, a listening heart, to let their words find a home, then that is a start. Come join me and listen to, “One World, (we are one)” produced by IllumiNative and Mag 7:
This blog post is dedicated to my grandmother, Hulda Adeline, Snickars/Herrling ~ Born September 24, 1892 in Vaasa, Finland~
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
The Christmas lights are up, the season of light is upon us.
Welcome back and thanks for joining me in celebrating the season of light. On the heel of my last post entitled, “Unplugging the Christmas Machine,” all about my desire to create a simpler yuletide, I want to share a few things we’ve been doing to slow down and smell the roses,…..
or rather the pine trees.
Last week was busy as per usual but on Wednesday, when we don’t have any after school activities, I picked the kids up at 2:30 pm and asked them if they wanted to go on an adventure. I knew it would have to be quick too since we had to pick Grace up from the high school at 3 pm, but my three youngest all perked up over the idea of a spontaneous excursion.
With excited eyes, the kids and I quickly drove to a large park in our area, however, at the entrance there was a sign warning of a bear sighting in the park. Do I take the kids and chance a visit with a sleepy bear I wondered?
We decided to risk it.
Our feet crunched on the gravel path as we ventured forward. Our lungs filled with the oxygen rich air. The sun was getting very low in the sky and in the 30 minutes we were there, the temperature dropped noticeably. As we walked briskly on the path, the children told me about their day with animated voices, laughing easily over the days events.
Why didn’t we do this more often I thought.
We could have continued on that path until we reached the look out over the lake but knowing Grace would be waiting for us, we turned around and headed back. It was halfway back that the kids spied piles of pine cones under one of the biggest pine trees in the park. Victoria, a natural artist, started talking about how cool it would be to make something with the pine cones. As we gathered a pile of them, choosing the biggest, most symmetrical cones, we talked about things we could do with them.
William remembered the gnome his cello teacher had given him made from a pine cone and he thought that would be fun to make. Kathryn and Victoria, always thinking of the welfare of animals, thought it would be great to spread the pine cones with peanut butter and roll them in bird seed to feed the many birds who winter over in our area. I was thinking about fragrant pine cones decorating our Christmas tree and table tops. Thankfully, I had a cloth bag in my pocket, which we quickly filled with our treasures.
Our time was up though and with a bulging bag we started running, taking turns carrying our “Canada bag” full of nature’s magic. Although I never said anything to the children, the whole time I was warily keeping watch for any signs of a bear. I casually drop the stick I had carried when we hit the red gate, signalling the parking lot ahead.
Whew!
Thankfully we never saw any signs of a bear and when we finally made it back to our car we carried with us a lovely late Autumn memory and a bag full of fall’s bounty.
(Above, William, Victoria and Kathryn showing their pine cone treasures…notice the bear warning on the gate)
That short foray into nature gave us all the energy we needed to get through the rest of our week. It was busy too with two music concerts. One at our children’s school and another at the Music school where our three youngest take lessons and are involved with the youth orchestra.
Victoria, William and Kathryn before their music concert….the “Second String Trio,” played really well and all the hard work paid off…restored by a mid week hike into the forest
Then to herald in December, both William and Grace sang in their respective school choirs at our little communities outdoor Christmas light up event. It had been a hectic week but that thirty minutes in the woods mid week restored us and kept us going for the rest of the week too. Imagine how much energy we would have if we allowed nature to lay roots in our soul every day?
Between all of the week’s activities I started to decorate our house for the holidays. I will share a few of the projects with you in my upcoming posts but last week was all about pine cones. First, I soaked them in my large laundry room sink and then in batches, I dried them in the oven at 200 degrees F for a few hours. As they dried, they filled our house with the most intoxicating scent of pine.
Once dried, they opened up beautifully and were lovely and big. I sprinkled some cinnamon essential oils on the bulk of them and added them to the greenery I had collected from our yard the week before. (I saved some for the craft projects and bird cone feeders that the children want to make)
In addition to the pine cones, I dried some slices of orange and when both the pine cones and oranges were dried I had fun decorating our house with the greenery, pine cones, dried oranges and birch branches, from our dead birch tree at the bottom of our property.
I had cleaned the living room but it needed a little something to pull it all together…something from nature does it every time!Baskets filled with white birch limbs/branches are hot in the decorating world right now. Thankfully I have an abundance of them falling off our dead birch tree at the bottom of our yard. I could have made a small fortune if I had been able to chop the tree down before Christmas.
Such simple things bring us the greatest joy and they don’t cost anything or take up much time to create. Also, being outside with those we love are the BEST winter memories!
Well, that is the “Pine Cone” portion of my post but when I was bundling up our little girls to play outside on the weekend, seeing their bright red gloves reminded me of an acronym for winter well being that I had read recently. I’ve altered it a bit.
GLOVES!
G stands for “gratitude.” Counting our blessings and realizing everything we need is already abundantly ours, is the corner stone to our sense of well being. I’ll never forget watching the movie, “The Shift,” with Dr. Wayne Dyer. As he rose in the wee hours of the morning to write, the first thing he would say was, “Thank you.” He was a strong spiritual mentor for me and now that he is gone, I like to continue greeting the morning with those precious two words. If you want to read more on the effects of gratitude on the brain click this link. And that reminds me of another shift in perspective Dr. Dyer left me and that was his quote, “change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change. ” Thank you Dr. D!
If you have never seen the movie, “The Shift,” take some time and allow it to flow into your life….something just may Shift!
L stands for “love.” When we remember that we are connected to all things and people on this earth and each of us can make a difference by spreading love around, then we will start to feel a humming vibration of peace. At the end of last week, both my sister C and my best friend T, took time out of their busy lives to send me inspirational messages. C sent me several emails and a picture of a flock of swans swimming in the icy river below their house. Seeing them reminded me of gracefully moving with the flow of life. (All hope for a healthy planet is not lost C…thanks for reminding me of that)
Then a snail mail package (remember those?) arrived the same day from my dear friend T. She had updated me since we last saw one another on my birthday the month before but mostly the package was full of love.
I like to believe that T and I have a sacred contract with one another……she is always there keeping me on my path…thank you T for the snail mail package with newsy letter and cards!T is like an Aunt to my kids…she was with me as I dreamed about them years ago and didn’t poo poo the idea that there were still souls waiting to join our family. Love you T
Little did my sister C or T know that when they were reaching out to me that it would send ripples out into the world and keep me going too. I got through the week and we all had energy to give love to a stray cat who showed up on our door step. She won’t come in but she is grateful for the food we leave out for her. Love for all sentient beings changes the vibration on our earth. (p.s. our kids haven’t given up on the idea of her joining our family…or at least rigging up a warm place for her to sleep outside)
O stands for “organic.” This applies to everything in our life from food that comes as close to nature (without the use of toxins) to natural clothing. If we take steps in surrounding ourselves also with an organic lifestyle, we will find our spirit is restored. Something as simple as decorating our house with pine cones can be the seeds for our well being in an organic way.
Victoria holding some of our dried pine cones and Kathryn is holding the candle holder we made from our birch tree branches…more about that in the next upcoming post Filling our home with natural organic sources creates a healthy environment
V stands for “Vegetables.” Our mothers were wise when they told us to eat our veggies. We are always looking for the magic pill; to make us healthier, make us younger, give us more energy, give us glowing skin and hair. It’s really simple. I have a secret to tell you, “Eat your veggies.”
E stands for “Exercise.” Anything that gets your heart pumping and your blood flowing is great but the best kind of exercise is the kind that happens when you don’t realize you are doing it. So get out and take your dog for a run, ask a friend to join you cross country skiing, or head out with the kids and the toboggans once it snows. (Pick a steep hill so your hamstrings get a work out on the way back up.) Years ago, when I was a part time fitness instructor, I used to think that my daily exercise practise was my path to my spirit but in fact it was the feeling of well being that I would achieve when exercising that connected me to my soul energy. Our bodies crave that connection.
Grace, William, Kathryn and Victoria, out for a walk on our mountain…you would never know that this large pond is just over the hill from our house, filled with ducks and wildlife, being outside exercises is good for our soul.My husband D works so hard but he’s starting to walk daily and is noticing that he has more energy for everything. Exercise is part of the key to feeling well in our lives
And the last letter in Gloves is S. S stands for “Sleep.” Most of us don’t get enough but we need it to restore and reset our energy so we can live our best life. At the end of day to help your body unwind, light a candle, have a bath, crawl into a comfy bed and allow your body to slow down. Turn off all electronics and tune in to the natural rhythm of your breath. In and out, in and out, allow it to bring peace at the end of your day. Quiet your mind. Say your prayers. Drift into a deep, restful sleep. This is the time of year for us to hibernate along with the bears.
And if that picture got you yawning and you think you might be ready for some sleep, I thought I would end this post with a link to a YouTube video that my oldest daughter Alyssa recently found for me/us. When she was a baby I used to play a tape with ocean waves, sea gulls and classical music. Everyday at nap time I would tell her, “settle down and take a rest, sometimes quiet time is best.” Then I would press play on her tape machine and she would drift off into a blissful slumber. She was always a good sleeper and I often think that tape inspired her to play the piano and also live near the ocean where she says she feels most at home. I have to agree.
So the next time you want some quiet time, grab a quilt and play this video.
Thank you! for visiting with me today. A few of my upcoming posts will continue on the theme of celebrating the holiday season with simple ideas, reminding us all once again to slow down and nourish our body and our soul.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
This week I discovered that love is perfect. Living life is not.
A week ago, I was thrilled to see the garlic I’d planted last fall starting to take off nicely. The stalks were all greening up and it looked like a good crop was in the works. Then on the weekend, when I was working in the yard, I spied my chickens pecking in my garlic bed.
no!
No!
NO!
Where were my green stalks? EVERY SINGLE stalk was gone!
I could feel the anger rise from my stomach and move throughout my upper body, right up to my neck. Choking me. I had carefully planted the garlic last fall, after sourcing out some organic bulbs. I had almost a whole bed planted and then my sister, J, gave me a bag from their 2018 harvest. I was so happy and able to complete the bed using some of their garlic. I was really looking forward to seeing the results, comparing the two kinds of garlic, later this year.
As I moved towards the raised bed, my chickens seeing me, came running towards me, their wings straight back, their bodies rocking in that silly side to side gait, that usually makes me laugh. They seemed to have big smiles on their faces as they approached. They stopped at my feet and pecked at my shoes.
“Bwok, Bwok,” they said.
Immediately, the heavy feeling I’d felt only moments before dropped and a warm, fuzzy feeling spread through my body. I had to smile and squat down to pet them. Their feathers were so soft and silky. “You are bad, BAD chickens for eating my garlic. But— — but, I still love you,” I told them.
They followed me, like faithful dogs, over to investigate my garlic bed. I noticed it was nicely turned over. So nicely turned over, that a few dried out bulbs were laying on top of the dirt. Moving my hands through the earth, I saw even my garlic bulbs were eaten. They jumped up into the bed, as I investigated their dirty work and seemed to say, “look mom, didn’t we do good?” as they continued to peck and scratch industriously through the bed.
Inhaling and then exhaling a large sigh, I thought about how only a few moments before I had been livid enough to have garlic, infused chicken for dinner. Then something happened.
An awareness washed over me.
My chickens were only doing what chickens do. Scratch, peck, and eat. They are living their life. My reaction to their destruction is just in response to me living my life. I too, want to eat. It’s funny that the smallest creatures often teach the biggest lessons.
Those of you who want to know how to garden with chickens, as in, letting them free range, let me tell you, the two don’t go together well. Our chickens will be three years old in a few days and here is what I have discovered; they will dig up ANYTHING, and love to spread it EVERYWHERE. I like to let them free range, but once I plant seeds, the only time they are able to cruise around freely, is when I’m in the backyard, watching them, ha, like a hawk.
I checked this book out from our local library and it had some great tips for gardening with a free range flock.
This incident got me thinking about another thing that made me angry this week and I wanted to share it with you.
Yes, and if you thought I was this peaceful, omming all the time, relaxed, laid back person, I hate to burst your bubble. HOPE, aka, me, is far from perfect.
F A R………from P E R F E C T!
But I also like to say, “I’m in the process.”
,This week, our neighbouring Province of Alberta, elected Jason Kenney, who is the head of the United Conservative Party in Alberta. One of his main campaign pledges, was to immediately shut off the taps of Alberta’s oil to British Columbia; the Province where I live. He said those words in retaliation for the Trans Mountain expansion project being shut down last year, and it obviously won the majority vote.
If the Trans Mountain expansion gets built it will negativelyimpact the southern resident killer whales
When I heard Kenney’s words, it made me angry. I was mumbling some unkind words about “red necks,” and their “big trucks” but then, that choking feeling rose higher and higher into my throat and I thought about my anger.
Anger doesn’t feel good.
I get where the voting majority of Albertan’s are coming from. (And I know this isn’t everyone…hey I have a son in Edmonton right now) Many are feeling land locked and being held hostage, unable to get their oil to market, which is creating a severe down turn in their economy. And up to fairly recently, they have been riding a wave of prosperity. Of course, they don’t want that to end. What is also unfortunate, is that they are sitting on one of the richest oil reserves in the world.
What are they to do?
What appears to be lacking, at least from my perspective, is their inability to recognize that some of us in B.C. view “our” natural resources, as strongly as they do theirs. Being stewards of our environment, we are hesitant to risk the serious consequences that would occur if there were a spill of bitumen, somewhere in our province or in the ocean. Also, when are the leaders in their Province going to admit that the oil industry is a dead dinosaur, ha. No pun intended. But seriously, there still may be a mass amount of oil in the ground but our earth is telling us loudly, that it can no longer sustain a carbon based society.
And if our planet dies, no amount of money from selling oil is going to help anyone. The health of the planet needs to be a priority. We just need to be creative and find other ways to be productive, without harming the earth, wherever we live. And being angry with one another is not going to take us anywhere.
Last summer, I had to keep our young children inside our home almost all of August, due to the intense smoke created by all the forest fires burning in our Province, which scientist say is a result of Global Warming. Also, our two older sons, who were working an landscapers to save money for their University expenses, would come home nightly, exhausted from the poor air quality, coughing and sputtering. Scientists say it’s only going to continue to get worse.
And where, you may be asking does LOVE, fit into all of this. Well, when I heard Kenney’s words toward British Columbia, I felt the same anger I had felt towards my chickens earlier in the week. Certainly it was stronger since well, a crop of garlic doesn’t compare to the seriousness of the health of our environment, but the feeling of anger was the same. Anger is anger. Also, the awareness that the only way to shift that anger out of my chest, or at least lessen it, was to infuse it with some compassion, which is the first step towards love.
Holding that anger inside would be living imperfectly, but if I shift that feeling slightly to at least compassion for what the Albertan’s are going through economically, I can start feeling the anger lift. If we are always trying to move towards feeling love, then life will be more perfect.
Then it occurred to me that Jason Kenney, with his promise to Albertans, to shut off the flow of oil to our Province, may have shot himself in the foot. I mean if your oil isn’t available, we are going to either find other oil sources, or we are going to move quickly to alternate, greener, energies. Which I believe, is something that many in our urban centres, like Vancouver and Victoria, are quickly adopting anyway. If that is the case, there will be no looking back on fossil fuels again and with his anger towards us, he will have just harmed the very industry he says he wants to help. See, no good comes from being angry….not to ourselves, and not to our neighbours.
Tomorrow is Good Friday. While I no longer walk a “religious path,” as I’ve been disillusioned by so called Christians, who do not hold love for all in their hearts which I believe is the base for having a God centered life, I still feel extremely spiritual. The teachings from my childhood, Sunday school class float up and ground me, guiding me through my imperfect life. One lesson comes to the fore front as we approach Easter and that is; to love our neighbour.
Whether it’s the chickens in my back forty, or our Canadian neighbours, in the Province east of us, I know love is perfect and is something I’m always moving towards. ….I’m in the process, in the process, in the process….!
And since this is a blog about being sustainable, living a carbon based life may not be sustainable any longer, but always, ALWAYS, being loving is.
Before I wave goodbye, I wanted to leave you with a video from Marvin Gaye’s singing, “Crazy, Crazy, Me. ” April 22nd is Earth Day and we are working hard to eliminate our garbage. It’s a daily challenge! But like shifting anger, we, as a family, are moving towards shifting away from thinking what we put in our garbage can, disappears once the garbage company picks it up. So stay tuned as I hope to share our process with you soon.
After trying to conceive for several years, and after the sad loss of our soulbaby (a 12 week loss), I turned to meditation and yoga. Slowly, I came out of the fog of depression stemming from that miscarriage. The dark days of winter grew lighter. I started seeing the beauty around me. The early signs of spring appeared; a red breasted Robin chirping happily on our fence, the warmth of the sun on my face, as I went on a restorative walk, and bright, yellow buds forming on our forsythia bush.
Being grateful, started being my way back to the living.
It was in that state, almost seventeen years ago, next month, that I finally conceived. I was shocked and surprised, but oh so grateful. After trying so hard to conceive month after month, it had just happened. Nine months later, I gave birth to our daughter Grace.
Grace is my daily reminder that being grateful is the key to manifesting anything you want. For when we are grateful, joy follows, and when we are in a joy filled contented space, we are capable of creating anything we want.
We are after all limitless in our ability to create.
Our daughter, Grace Elizabeth. my mom and Grace…mom always told me to count my blessings
Next month, Oprah and Deepak are offering another meditation challenge. It’s called, “Manifesting Grace through Gratitude.” I hope you will join me in this challenge and see if it will help you move towards what you desire most in your life.
And to help you get into the Ommming mood, check out the link the this You tube video, (Om chanting @528 Hz). My sister C, sent it to me the other day and I was absolutely thrilled! Years ago, C had given me a CD called, “The Eternal Om, ” and this You tube video has that same resonance. She called it a healing sound, but I know when you allow it to wash over you, it will pull you towards your golden cord. The cord that connects you to your most creative self and to everything in the Universe. When you are in that vibration, you can manifest ANYTHING. Come Om with me. (Thanks C for this vid link and always being my soul sister)
Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
With spring on our doorstep, I feel light and free; as if I could accomplish anything! It’s also the first Monday of spring break and I have two, glorious weeks to spend with my youngest children. The endless days spread out enticingly before us. We have a long list of plans and much to do but first I wanted to start, what I hope will be a regular Monday blog post throughout this spring centered on my favourite topic; Minimalism.
Spring is the perfect time to shed our heavy coats from winter and lighten our load. Spring is a good time to open the windows, release all the stale air, and let go of whatever we have accumulated in the cold, hoarding season. Personally, speaking, I hold onto far more than I normally would, in the belief I may need it someday; especially if winter goes on and on.
I’m ready to do a major spring cleaning with some new, green, homemade cleaning products, we are letting go of our garbage service, (who needs to pay it if you are moving in the direction of a zero-waste lifestyle?) and letting go also of our cable t.v. service. Yes, we are one of those die hard families still holding onto that archaic service.
Today, my first minimalism topic is meditation. When I’m in a meditative state, I feel light and free, totally weightless, and part of the greater whole. I love that feeling! I don’t know why I don’t meditate more often, but life often gets in the way. (or rather I allow it to) I think we as humans like to suffer. We like to drag all our earthly crap with us daily; whether it be actual material stuff, or a relationship that no longer nurtures us. Perhaps, you have a few pounds on your earth suit that you would like to lose? Or it may be letting go of the fear that hounds us, when we turn into most media. Seeing images of hate, racism, misogynistic behavior, greed, I could go on and on, is not good for our well being. And yet, we tune in and let those images and words into our lives, into our homes.
Why?
After meditating, I feel more peaceful. I’m able to shift easier, as life bombards me with often tragic events occurring all over the world. After being still, I feel kinder to myself, more loving and worthy. I deserve to live my best life ever. When I meditate, I can control what is going on in my mind; in my life. It helps to balance me, keeping me in a state where I can be a gate keeper for only goodness flowing into my life.
And so, I invite you to join me today, in Deepak Chopra and Oprah’s, 21 day meditation challenge. Think of it as the first step in your minimalism journey this spring. If we can let go of just one thing that is not working for us, shedding it from our lives, then we have more energy to be more loving and kind to ourselves and those around us. In that space, we may also be able to let go of even more that isn’t working for us. Seems like a win/win to me.
It starts TODAY so sign up; it’s free. Really! Yes, totally free. I’ve done a number of their meditation challenges and this one really speaks to me, as I want to shed much from my life this spring. It’s a process in which I’m always in the state of but in my opinion, spring is the perfect time to shed what isn’t working for us any longer.
The following is an excerpt explaining further what the challenge is about:
Shedding the Weight: Mind, Body and Spirit begins March 19! Together we’ll embark on a boundless meditation journey to shed the burdens that hold us back, so we can start shining from the inside out.
You’ll learn how to:
Release heaviness and toxicity – on every level
Break free from unhealthy habits using the light of your own awareness
Discover what truly nourishes your entire being to bring newfound freshness, inspiration, and joy into your life
If you don’t see this post for a few days, they still allow you to register and you can catch up. I hope you take advantage of this opportunity as it could change your life.
Let’s move on the path of shedding worthless weight together.
Hey and before I close, I want to say Happy Birthday to my sister J!…one of my three incredible, “soul sisters.” She has taught me MUCH, on this journey we call life. J, I hope your day is FULL of love!
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
“It is the first mild day of March. Each minute sweeter than before…There is a blessing in the air. ~William Wordsworth~
Guess what?
As I knock on my wooden desk, I have to tell you that the last three days have been sunny and glorious. The snow is slowly melting and the birds are starting to sing.
Dare I say, winter is on the threshold of bidding me goodbye?
This a picture from our deck this past weekend
This past weekend, I donned my country sweater. The one my step dad Bud used to wear with the brown, wooden buttons and pictures of horses in the knit. It’s too big for me, but I like it. I smell old spice when I wear it and feel him walking next to me. It reminds me of a simpler time, when we lived as a family together in Creston, in our big heritage house up on the hill. In spring, shovel in hand, he used to head out to the garden and double dig the well rotted horse manure he had dumped on it in the fall. I would wave goodbye, leather bridle over my shoulder, heading out to the fields where our horses were boarded. As I rode “Blondie,” my big Palomino horse, I would sing at the top of my lungs, John Denver’s song, “Country Roads,” and Blondie’s long ears would flicker back and forth and she would step out alert and bright.
With these memories floating through my brain, and Bud by my side, I headed out to clean the chicken coop. To me, that’s the first rites of spring. Weird, but I like to do it. The very first thing I did was unplugged their heat lamp and their water font. I wrapped up the electric cord and dropped it into my husband’s work bench drawer with a determined plop and went back to the coop, clomping in my black winter boots.
As I started to scoop out the old wood shavings, I laughed watching our four hens tip toe across the frozen, still snow covered tundra of our back yard. They gratefully hopped up onto the exposed dirt of the garden. The little kids came out to join us and gleefully started bouncing on the trampoline, which was no longer weighed down by a pile of snow. They started taking turns having rolling and crazy jumping contests, while the sun glinted off their shiny heads. As the kid’s laughed, I could hear the chickens happily “pluck, plucking,” while they gleefully scratched in the quickly thawing earth.
In this atmosphere, the seeds for this post started to germinate.
You may remember me mentioning in a few of my past posts how over and done I was with winter. It was only after one of our last snow falls that I finally conceded, dug deeper under my winter comforter, allowing the cold season to follow it’s natural course, without further grumbling on my part. It’s not like it was going to leave any faster, and being depressed was making me miserable.
And so I surrendered.
Surrender is a funny thing. You’d think once you wave your white flag and give up, that what you want most of all moves farther away from you and yet, the reverse is true.
William brought home this little snow man on Friday. I’m thinking it’s the last winter craft that will be coming home
I learned this lesson early in my adult life, although I didn’t start putting it into conscious practice until I was over forty. I’ll never forget falling in love in my early twenties with someone who I thought I could easily spend the rest of my life with. Rob and I dated the fall and winter when I turned twenty one. I was enamored with his intellect, humour, and his kindness. One of my last memories I have with him, was skiing at Lake Louise in the Rockies. It had been a blissful day, gliding down the runs, but by the end, every muscle in my body screamed for a hot bath. As we were driving home though, it started to snow heavily and when we spotted a car pulled over with it’s hood up, instead of passing like everyone else, Rob pulled his truck over, got out and went to help the driver. I don’t remember what he ended up doing; something mechanical. He liked solving mechanical problems. It wasn’t long though, before he jumped back into the truck with a smile on his face. In that moment I fell deeper in love with him.
A long term relationship was not to be however and we broke up. The next thing I heard, he was dating a classmate back in my old hometown. The year after they were married. I was devastated after we broke up and my heart was hurting. As spring unfolded though, and the beauty of the season with it, I decided to swear off men, letting go of any thoughts that love was in my future. I planned to make a good life for myself. I had a job I loved, a comfortable place to live and friends who were good companions. I didn’t need men in my life.
There is some miracle that flies out into the great Universe when we let go. It’s like a bird, light and peaceful, drifting higher and higher until you can no longer see it in the sky. And when you have forgotten all about it, when you have started to laugh again, that bird gently finds it’s way back to you, settles on your shoulder, and when you glance at it, you notice it’s feathers are dusted with grace and glisten with a golden orb of hope.
After my relationship with Rob was over, my best and dear friend Lynne and I joined the Calgary Ski club. While spring is maybe not the best time to join a ski club, that group organized fun events all year long. The Friday night socials were a highlight, with something fun being planned every week. Of course, at the club there was great music, the drinks were cheap and the evenings were spent laughing with friends. It was there, when I was decidedly single, and happily proclaiming my status, that I met my future husband, David.
I was not in the least bit interested in getting involved with another man. He had other plans though and my mom’s words, “you can never have too many friends,” rang in my ears. Slowly we got to know each other. He became a friend and eventually, he wooed me back into the idea that love was worth it. He was the man that I was meant to be with for this lifetime. The rest is history, as they say.
The point of that little story was to illustrate how the law of attraction works in our life. When we want something so bad, no amount of pushing and pulling will ever bring it closer. It’s not until we let go and surrender that a void occurs, allowing what is really meant for us to move into our life.
And as this quote below illustrates, the law of attraction and the wisdom in surrendering, has been recognized for centuries.
“Let your mind be quiet, realizing the beauty of the world, and the immense, the boundless treasures that it holds in store.
All that you have within you, all that your heart desires, all that your nature so specially fits you for–that or the counterpart of it waits embedded in the great Whole, for you. It will surely come to you.
Yet equally surely not one moment before its appointed time will it come. All your crying and fever and reaching out of hands will make no difference.
Therefore do not begin that game at all.”
~English Poet, Edward Carpenter~(1844-1929)
And so, Cheryl married Rob and together they had four children. They were married for 32 years until he sadly died of cancer in 2014. I will never forget his smile or his kind heart.
In my forties, the art of surrender finally came home to me in a conscious way. David and I had been trying so hard to have our fifth baby, one that I thought would complete our family, not knowing something even bigger was destined for our family. It took a long time to get pregnant. Then finally, we did and I was jubilant. All too soon, we discovered that our “soulbaby’s” heart beat had stopped. I eventually miscarried at the end of the first trimester. That winter was full of pain and grief. As I let go of the idea of ever having any more children, with it came a moment of grace. The following Spring, as the world was waking up once again to the warming earth, and me with it, I got pregnant again. Our daughter, Grace Elizabeth, was born just after I turned forty three, the following December. I often call her my surrender baby.
Even after her birth though, and the true understanding of the power of letting go washed over me, I sometimes get caught up in the act of pushing life, only to remember that no amount of gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands will bring what I want into my life. All I need to do is open my hands, palm side up and offer myself up to the great good of the Whole.
And once again, the early days of spring are almost here. Was it me finally surrendering to winter that made it appear?
Is there something you desire more than anything right now? Are you working hard to create a life or bring something into your world? Stop and think about how you are trying to manifest your dream and surrender your desire. MOVE INTO THE FLOW OF ALLOWING and watch it whoosh into your life. (often it comes even better than anything you could EVER dream)
A great mantra that I have used many times since Grace’s birth is “Let go and let God.”
When we let go, and live in a state of gratitude and appreciation, good things always flow our way.
And that finally brings me to my final story and a lesson in making almond milk.
On the weekend, as I started working outside, close to Mother Earth, cleaning the coop, picking up crinkled and dry leaves and digging them into the garden, sweeping up the sidewalks and drive way, I started to get frustrated. I have so much I want to do to create a richer, more sustainable life for myself and my family. At times, it feels like I’m walking a tight rope, holding all the things I want to implement into our lives, while below is a consumer driven society that beckons us to live a different way than our heart’s calling. I work hard at not falling.
I came inside the kitchen fuming over my thoughts and exhaled them all over my oldest son, who was making a pot of tea. Now Clark, as you may know, has a Science degree. An Earth and Environmental science degree to be exact, so he gets where I’m coming from. He cares about our planet But he’s also been marinaded in the art of surrender and allowing for years.
He’s been exposed to quotes like the following one by Rumi, on our large kitchen chalk board; and of course we have had many great philosophical discussions on the merits of a soul driven life.
Although he comes from a Science base belief system, he understands the art of surrender. At times, I think he’s even perfected it. A demonstration of such is recently, it was me not him, who was wringing her hands, wondering if he would get into law school next fall. He sent off his applications and then calmly went about his life, doing things that made him happy. Spending time with his friends, working out at the gym and making a difference at our local Science Centre. So the other day, I should not have been surprised, when he made an astute observations and brought me up cold. I was talking a mad streak about some of my zero waste ideas, while pouring a cup of raw almonds into a large canning jar and filling it with water. I set the jar on the counter to soak and continued my frustrated vent with him. He listened to all my thoughts and when I took a breath and was silent for a moment he finally said…..
“Mom, are you making almond milk?” I glanced over at the canning jar and said, “Yeah?” “Well, mom,” he said, “maybe you can’t solve the big environmental issues on the earth, but it’s the little things you do each day that make a difference; like making almond milk from scratch.”
“Hmmm, ” I said and smiled.
I rinsed the soaked almonds this morning and made almond milk. While doing so I remembered something I often tell my oldest daughter but I forget to do so myself;
I remembered to, “breathe, relax, trust and enjoy,” and made a note to myself to talk with David about my idea to cancel our weekly garbage pick up. Stay tuned on how the process of surrendering THAT, goes in our life.
And if you’d like to stop buying almond milk from the store, and take little steps with me towards living a more sustainable life, then come on into my kitchen and let’s make some almond milk. You can make it as creamy as you like, you can even add a vanilla bean or any flavouring you like. The best part is you don’t have to drive to the store to get your almond milk. You save fuel, and also the packaging that is used for the almond milk. If you are able to buy your almonds in bulk, using your own jar, or reusable bag, all the better.
Ready to surrender?
Let’s go and make some almond milk….it’s ALL GOOD!
Homemade Almond Milk
Ingredients
1 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight in cool water
5 cups of filtered water, (adjust this according to desired thickness
Pinch of sea salt
Optional: 1 tsp vanilla extract or one vanilla bean, scraped
Optional: Sweeten with 2 pitted dates
Instructions
1. Add your soaked raw almonds, water, salt and any additional options into a high speed blender until creamy and smooth. Keep it running and milk the almonds for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Using a strainer or a nut milk bag, or even a thin dish towel, let all the liquid run into a jar, and squeeze or press the remaining nut pulp, until all the liquid is extracted. (you can use the remaining pulp for any baked goods)
3. Cover the jar and place in the refrigerator but we like to make smoothies out of it, or drink it fresh, or my personal favourite is to add it to my morning oatmeal, and my Earl Grey tea, making a slight London Fog. Yum!
Note…if you do put it in the fridge, make sure to shake the jar well before using as it does separate.
And that is a simple thing we can do today, while singing our hearts out. Join me in singing with John Denver, “Country Roads,”
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
What does the wisdom of Gandalf, blessing today and carrot muffins have in common? Well hang in there and I will try to tie them all together. I’m sorry that I haven’t been writing more on my blog. I have been rather depressed since Christmas. Ever since everyone went back to their own lives full of wonderful experiences and interesting activities. I’ve also been sad over the state of our world.
On a personal note:
Our oldest daughter, Alyssa, (also a passionate LOTR fan…for those of you who are not, that stands for the “Lord of the Rings” which are books written by J. R.R. Tolkien) is back living and working in Victoria as a teacher and a writer. (Check out her latest post on her blog, A.R. Reynolds)
Our oldest son, Clark is working at our local Science Center and patiently waiting for law schools to knock on our door. Fingers crossed that he will be returning to school in the fall; not that I’m in any hurry for him to leave home but I know the next chapter of his life is beckoning.
Our son Mitchell, who just turned twenty two yesterday, (Happy Birthday dearest son) is in his last year of Science at the University of Victoria, and later this Spring he will graduate with his bachelor’s degree. Who knows where he will go with his Science/Psychology degree but there is a need for mental health professionals in Canada ( in the world really) right now, so I’m sure he will find this an exciting and flourishing field to continue to study, or work in.
Our third son, Harrison, who just turned 19 before Christmas, is in his first year of University and he seems to be handling a full course load of Science/business courses. I never hear from him so I know he’s staying busy with school. When I run into his friends, some who have remained in our little town to attend our local University, they tell me that from the snap chats he sends out, “he’s having a very good time away from home!”
Hmmmm…..a mom letting go moment here. I’m happy you are enjoying University life Harry.
Grace, who just turned 15, is probably the busiest of us all. While maintaining straight A’s in school, she is also working on her grade 9 piano, her grade 7 voice, she has a voice festival coming up, sings in the school choir, and plays on the school basketball team. The later came TOTALLY out of left field, when she told us back in November, that she was going to try out for the junior girl’s team. (never having played before!!!) Shockingly, she is following in her older brother Harrison’s footsteps with adept ability. During their last tournament she won, “most valuable player,”and was given a t-shirt/Gatorade as a prize. She strongly played her post position, made several baskets, including two back to back free throws and assisted numerous times. Who knew? (Goes to show we all have unknown talents and gifts)
Our son William who is eight, is no couch potato either. He plays cello, and is involved in the group string orchestra at our local music school. He is also swimming in our local swim clubs “grassroots program.” Last night he came home smiling and waving an upcoming swim meet registration form. He also enjoys being a part of the chess club at school.
Finally there are our twin daughters, Kathryn and Victoria. For six year olds, they are busy in their own right, learning to play piano and violin. Next week they have been invited to join the beginner violin group at our music school.Although we didn’t register them for another round of swimming and skating lessons, which they were doing all fall, (me smiling as that was a bit much) we have been getting them out to skate at our new and improved outdoor skating rink. I think they like it even better than lessons as they can free skate, doing whatever they want while racing their Dad and older brother Will. (Next time I’m joining them)
Kathryn
Victoria
Then there is my husband David, who doesn’t share much about his work except to say, “more projects have been pouring in,” with a grin on his face. I guess that is why he heads out the door to get to the office for 7 am each morning
David, truly my better half
So you see, everyone is busy with their own lives.
Then there is me.
I’ve kind of been floundering since the twins started grade one last September. I think I understand one aspect towards parents who choose home-schooling. It’s really a delight keeping them close and watching them learn and grow. I truly admire these families.I’ve been asked a few times lately if I home-school our children and I think I will write about our education choices in a future post and perhaps give you some links to tools and resources we use to support our children’s learning but for now suffice it to say—-
AFTER I waved goodbye to the little ones, who took the bus this morning, I decided that I HAD to break the monotony of my daily routine.
As you can see from the distant hillsides, we still have tons of snow
OR I was going to go crazy!!!
INSTEAD of coming in and cleaning up the kitchen, which was a MESS from a whirlwind morning of cooking oatmeal, making a fruit smoothie, and making lunches, (yes I should have made them last night), picking up bathroom towels and pj’s off the floor, throwing my first load of laundry in for the day, unloading last nights dishes from the dishwasher, gathering up garbage from everyone’s bedroom, and making beds; that is just a snippet glimpse into my morning routine,
I chose to feed the cat, not really a choice since he was loudly meowing that he was hungry, AND I took the chickens their breakfasts. (those chickens eat better than most people in the world, just saying) After that, I disregarded the mess and made a BIG cup of black tea, with a splash of vanilla unsweetened almond milk, took a bowl of leftover oatmeal, and headed back to bed.
I never do this!!!
Take the gentle path. ~ George Herbert~
Nope!
That has not been my path………
My oldest sister B often says to me, “be gentle on yourself.” I don’t know if she meant for me to crawl back into bed after the kids left for school but I know when she says this, she means she wants me to take life easier.
That is not in my DNA!
For some reason, the mantra I hear lingering years after my Dad died, when I was five years old is:
“Work hard!”
But…..
I think there is great wisdom in my oldest sister’s words. Thanks B! I wished I listened to them more.
But today, I’m all ears.
I am here, laptop in hand, sipping comforting tea, eating oatmeal loaded with nuts, seeds and fruit, and cuddled under my cozy comforter. Ryuuki, our Siamese cat is doing his front paw kneading routine, getting ready to curl up for a good sleep. He looks at me with his big blue eyes and says, “it’s about time you joined me in the good life.”
Ryuuki is a good teacher how to live life gently.
We should all listen to our big sisters, and our pets.
With their hateful words and actions, they draw us closer towards midnight on the doomsday clock. Thanks to these two leaders, (can they be called that???”) a panel of scientists and scholars said just yesterday that the world is as close as it has ever been to a so-called doomsday scenario. A nuclear war which will end life as we know it on earth. For some reason, I think about the Lord of the Rings trilogy set in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, when I read or hear any news about Trump and the Korean Dictator. At times, it’s so bizarre that it feels like a fictional nightmare. But this is really happening on our earth right now.
I try to look away but then my crystal ball shows me an image of my children. Small and sweet like the hobbits in the LOTR’s. William’s laughter is light and tinkling and his eyes shine with joy, and the little girls respond with giggles of mirth. Their images replace Trump and Kim Jong-un and the doomsday clock. I can see our children playing music together and hear the harmony flowing out of the ball and into the world.
Clark playing violin with his little sisters, Kate on the left and Tori on the right
And I wonder, how can a depressed, middle age mom, help to change the world, when I don’t even have the energy to clean the house today. How can I shift the darkness that hovers over my heart, over our planet, and threatens to invade my home? As I asked these questions of myself, I thought of the words of Gandalf.
“It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folks that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”
And that is where my small acts of kindness and love come in….and I start to tie in the whole blessing aspect of my post.
“Bless a thing and it will bless you. Curse it and it will curse you…if you bless a situation,it has no power to hurt you, and even if it is troublesome for a time, it will gradually fade out, if you sincerely bless it.” ~Emmet Fox~
Blessing the circumstances we are living with in the world, is our pathway to changing it. Accepting the situation and WHAT IS, doesn’t mean we are complacent towards it. No! But it is the first step in the path towards moving forward and changing our circumstance.
In my own personal life, things are changing. My children are growing up and moving out into the world. They don’t need me quite as much. That’s a good thing. That means David and I are raising strong independent people. This is a blessing. Lately, I’ve been thinking about getting back into the work force but when I think about trying to balance everything again; work and home life, I cringe.
Is that the right path for me”
After seeing two career opportunities that interested me recently, both of which I’m qualified for, I shared my thoughts with my husband. He looked at me for a long time, contemplating my words and my desire to move down a new path but after what felt like a long time, he said,
“You underestimate your value in our home.”
Huh?
He further went on to say that everything I did at home, enabled everyone else to accomplish great things.
Wow!
I do that!
Really?
As I was in the kitchen pouring a second cup of steaming tea just now, I dropped the job ads in the recycling bin. I must admit January is a slow month. I need more sunshine. Also, I know my garden will be calling to me in a short while. I have great plans for expanding our vegetable garden. Adding a few more chickens to our flock and maybe planting a mini grape vineyard. Once spring comes, David and I will be working on our second rock wall above the pool and getting it planted. In the meantime, we have to finish the attic renovation before Harrison returns in late April. And then there is always the opportunity to work at my gardening gig from late April to mid June. My boss did invite me back at the end of last season.
There is a lot to bless today.
I sit up a bit straighter in bed, that dark ball slips further from my fingertips. And yet, that heaviness holds on like a tight strap around my heart, squeezing any happiness I may feel.
I know I’m not the only one feeling this way.
Judging from all the protest marches occurring in the States, and various places around the world, I’m not alone in wanting positive change in the world.
But what can I do about it?
So many questions….
And then something I heard recently on the CBC radio hits me. I wish I could remember the name of the guest speaker, but I was driving at the time and I couldn’t write his name down. He was a spiritual teacher who said, there is power in sending a different message out into the world. One most people wouldn’t think of but has tremendous power.
Loving kindness
Hmmmm.
During that CBC radio segment, seeds were planted in my heart and I know that by taking the time to be gentle on myself today, it loosened the straps of darkness holding me hostage. Although, I’m personally not in a place to send loving kindness to men who move through the world as ego, power hungry lunatics, I AM willing to send them a blessing.
A blessing of kindness.
If I really want to be about helping our planet earth, then it starts from a place of accepting these men are in power, understanding that we are on the brink of a pending apocalyptic event, and fear and hatred is not an effective emotion right now. These feelings never solved anything.
Blessing others and sending loving kindness is the answer. And if enough of us take a moment to bless our earth and all that is happening within it, and especially those who vex us, I know this is the key to the positive change I want to see in the world.
Who knew that the most effective form of protest was a blessing.
This is where I need to be right now.
My family needs me at home…even if I am in bed writing this morning.
Maybe it’s the way out of my depression too.
There is GREAT wisdom in choosing to take a gentle path in life. Maybe more of us need to cuddle up in bed with our cat or puppy by our side, sipping hot comforting tea. I’m blessed to have this option. But most of us can incorporate some kindness towards ourselves into our day.
No matter what path we are on, we need to take gentle steps. Steps that aren’t fraught with rocks, easing ourselves towards more joy, more kindness, and definitely more love.
Bless today!
And what does all of this have to do with Carrot muffins you may ask. When we bless our day and those in it, we bless what is. We accept our circumstances and in doing so there is a exhale of surrender. We let go. And with that letting go moment, trust whooshes in. You know that saying that the Universe can’t abide a void. When we let go, trust flows into our life and goodness follows it.
And like the law of attraction, when we live in a state of goodness, we attract more of it into our lives.
Goodness comes!
And THAT is where the carrot muffins come in.
My Goodness!
Because after a morning of writing, sipping tea, and generally, being kind to me, I filled my cup up. I’m able to give back. I’m able to send blessings out to the world and particularly to two men that I feel need a whopping bowlful of it for how they have been behaving. And for my family, well, when my kids come home from school this afternoon, they are going to smell warm spices wafting out of our kitchen and find a large red plate loaded with carrot muffins waiting JUST for them.
Yes, as Mother Teresa said, “I can do no great things, only small things with great love.” And so today, I can write about being sad, about blessing my situation, about blessing those who vex us, and about moving in the direction towards change with an expectation for only goodness.When we send love out, we are really loving ourselves.
Because if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times; “We ARE, all connected!”
Please join me in a sec in my kitchen and we can make some muffins. I need to get up now, bath and get my house whipped into shape. Gee, who knew I would have so much energy after a morning in bed! While we bake let’s listen to the following YouTube video. As I was writing this post and talking about the spiritual leader I heard on CBC earlier this month, I remembered an email I got from my sister C. (I know, I’m blessed to have THREE wise and gorgeous sisters) Anyway, I guess the Universe REALLY wanted me to get this message. The link to the YouTube video she sent is a guided loving meditation from Ajahn Sona, who I met many years ago during a weekend retreat at the Birken Monastery.
No matter what your beliefs or faith, when you come from a place of love, there is great healing.
The first time I listened to Ajahn Sona’s video and sang along with him, “All I ask of you is forever to remember me, as loving you,” I cried and cried. Tears just flowed. I was thinking about my mom, my dad, about my sisters and their families. I thought about each of our children and hoped that they ALL know, that if I said nothing else to them in this lifetime, that they hear THESE words, from me. It”s such a healing message. Then as I said these words to my loved ones, I was hearing them say these words back to me.
My sister C, I heard you gently singing them to me. Thank you!!!
And get ready to sing, and cry……if you can’t see the video below, click on the hyper-link.
I know I wove in and out of various topics today in this post, but if you remember nothing more, remember my love for you and my intention to contribute to the world in a loving way. As always, I’d love to hear from you. If you are unable to comment directly on this blog, you can always send me a message on my Facebook page.
Love is where it’s at people~the rest is just filler.
And speaking of filler…..here is my carrot muffin recipe.Let’s bake!
Hope’s Homestead Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup of carrot/apple pulp (when I made my juice yesterday I saved the pulp but if you don’t have any pulp from left over juicing use 1 cup of applesauce instead)
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk
2 cups flour (I like to use 1 cup whole wheat/1 cup white flour…using just wheat makes it heavy)
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of grated carrots
Topping Ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 allspice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
In a medium bowl mix the 2 eggs, 1 cup of carrot/apple pulp and/or 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup oil, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup almond milk and 2 cups of grated carrots.
In a large bowl mix the 2 cups of flour, the 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt and the spices. (1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp allspice)
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients but only until just combined. Over mixing will create a heavy muffin….and we want light muffins with nice texture
Place into greased muffin tins…..I fill to the top as I like big muffins. This recipe makes 18 nice size muffins.
Sprinkle the topping, sugar, spices and walnuts on top of each muffin.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes to 20 minutes…or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool slightly and then turn onto a cookie rack to cool….but only long enough to EAT!
A couple muffins for me to go along with my tea…while I edit this post
And a plate waiting for the kids to come home
As you munch on muffins, I hope you contemplate how you can take a gentle path. And as you move through your day, say your blessings.
Blessed be my blogging family!
Until we meet again, may you be well, peaceful and happy.
~The most powerful weapon in the Universe is Love~
Every day there is something horrendous happening on our planet. If it’s not from natural disasters, like the forest fires in my area, it’s hurricanes in the Caribbean, or earthquakes in Mexico, and if it’s not that, it’s man made atrocities, which are even more tragic, since those can be prevented.
And while the only thing we can do to avoid some of the natural disasters, are to move in the direction of green environmental practices, which hopefully will restore our earth’s balance, unfortunately, there is little we can do to assist in situations like what the Muslim’s of the Rakhine state, are experiencing in Myanmar right now. These are crimes against humanity and it makes my heart ache and eyes fill with tears.
I am not rich, nor do I have any fame, but I know that as a soul, on an earthly experience, I am limitless and so lately I’ve been praying for an answer as to how I can help the world. I am a mom, and I like to think that I’m a writer too and while this tiny blog isn’t much, right now it’s the only voice I have.
I feel compelled to write, but what do I say?
And then, after I said goodbye to the kids this morning I decided to take some time for me and sit. Just sit and breathe. It’s been so hard to meditate lately. It seems like there is always something more pressing to do; laundry, making meals, cleaning bathrooms, harvesting food and processing food from our garden, but today, something was drawing me to my mat.
Our kids, Victoria, William, and Kathryn waiting for the bus….I miss them but they love school!
I sat for a bit but could not focus on my breath so I found my lap top, plugged it in near my burgundy meditation cushions and googled, “meditating with Deepak.” And that is when I was given the answer to my prayer; Dr.Deepak Chopra reached out and used HIS gifts for connection and touched me.
“Thank you Deepak!”
As Deepak says in the following meditation, we CAN make a difference in the world because we are all inexplicably woven together and connected, (I guess that is why I’ve been crying so much lately) and any love we give to others, or ourselves, ripples out into the world.
Hitting myself on the forehead!!!
With that insight, or rather that reminder, ’cause I KNOW THIS STUFF, but like reminding our kids to be kind and share, (something they know intrinsically and usually do everyday) I had to be reminded that we DO touch each other and we CAN help each other as a result.
I CAN make a difference in the world today.
How, you may ask?
Well, it’s so simple it makes me cry again for the ease of it.
It doesn’t take any money, hardly any effort, and only a glimpse of time. It does take awareness though and an intention.
An intention to…………………. Love the World.
It’s as simple as this; to love the world, you simple love yourself.
Yes, that’s right.
You just need to love yourself and how hard can that be?
You’d think it would be easy because most of us think about US, first? It’s a survival thing isn’t it?
Well, obviously it’s very hard for many of us because if we were more loving to ourselves, and felt like we were worthy of that love, there wouldn’t be the wars, the crimes against humanity, the throwing of hateful tweets, out via our social media; there would just be harmony.
If you stop and think about our world leaders, who are the ones bringing peace and who are the ones who are creating havoc? I’ve been shaking my head all year watching Donald Trump and trying to figure out his intention when he says something hurtful or tweets something inappropriate. And also the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un. What is going on in these men’s brains? I’m trying to think logically but maybe that is the problem….
and as a mom, I just want to pull their heads together and whisper, “be kind, be loving.”
Do you think they were truly loved and accepted as babies, as children, as young people growing up, or did they have something to prove to their mentors, their parents, and their support system? I may be wrong, and I’m certainly no psychologist but often when my children strike out at others, it’s because they aren’t feeling good about themselves. Often, when I just draw them close for a hug and a soft talk, I can feel their shoulders ease and they smile out into the world again.
My gut says it’s that simple and yet, why do we human beings continue to not choose that path?
Why is there so much suffering? Is this just the human condition?
I know that I have felt not worthy of love many times in my life. Often that is why I’m running around trying to make my life appear perfect so others will think I’m more lovable and I’m also trying to impress them with my ability to juggle all the balls.. Ha! I’m a terrible juggler, but I’m pretty good at watching them drop and finally getting some insights.
I’m conscious of it but instead of sitting on my mat this week, I flew around doing everything but…..hey, I know I’m preaching to the choir here, why else would you be reading this blog, but really, this is one of the reasons I haven’t been blogging much this year. I’m trying to figure all this stuff out….and then I remember, oh right. You don’t have to figure it all out. Hope…..you just need to love yourself, experience the journey, and love those around you.
It’s that easy!
If you can relate at all, to some of my rambling thoughts and my solution to helping our earth, then please join me this week doing two things:
1. Join me in being free of judgement. (let’s call ourselves minimalist in this regard) For today, let no judgements form in your head…or touch your heart. (If you are like me this will be hard to do but the peace that comes is HUGE!) When a judgement comes, observe it and let it go…because you know we aren’t just judging others…oh no, we are judging ourselves. Ouch!
AND number 2…..
2. Take 15 minutes and sit on your mat. (If you don’t have one, find a comfy cushion and a special place that you can call your own) Let Deepak come into your home and open up our heart chakra. Connect with your sacred breathe and repeat the heart mantra, “YUM.”
When we fill ourselves with love, the energy moves out into the world
When I heard the mantra Deepak suggested, to open our heart chakra, I had to laugh because that is a word I say around here a lot! Especially this time of year; when I’m out in my garden and biting into a crisp, delicious apple straight off the tree, or finding a ripe cherry tomato waiting just for me. Yum is my most used words with all the harvesting going on so maybe that is why my heart chakra has been so open and I’ve been more sensitive to all the events in the world. BUT now, I am going to send it within and I KNOW, it will ripple out into the world.
Yum! yum! yum!
The last thing we can do is pray. I know it sounds so insignificant but I believe in the power of prayer. It works daily in my life…after all I wouldn’t have been reminded of this simple lesson today.
And now my dear blogging family, let’s meditate. Find a comfy pillow, or sit in a chair with your feet touching the ground, palms up on your knees and click play on your computer. Here’s the link to Deepak’s meditation, “Loving the World.”
Ahhhh….that’s better. And with a smile and a wave for my little people will be home soon, I say goodbye. Thanks for connecting with me today! I can feel that connection moving out into the world and touching the whole planet.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Namaste,
Hope
P.S. And in case you wonder about my judgements in this post, I’m letting them go…they are an observation and no more. We are all in the process and our on our own journey!…even if we are together in the big scheme of things….hugs to you all!
My husband David and I are building a wall. It’s in our back yard, behind the house we built twenty five years ago. Our house sits on a third of an acre, on a sloping hillside property above Kalamalka Lake, which National Geographic has claimed to be one of the ten most beautiful lakes in the world. Over a hundred years ago, this land was the spring and summer home for the Salish Peoples of the British Columbia Interior. They hunted, fished and gathered berries and grew crops on this hillside.
When our rural community of Coldstream was settled, mostly by British ruling immigrants one hundred years ago, our land was heavily planted with fruit orchards. Then as the area grew, and the demand for housing with it, the trees were systematically taken down and our subdivision was developed. Our home used to be on the highest road on the hillside and our cul- de- sac was the coveted place to live. Since then, the whole mountain has been consumed with construction and we now rest smack in the middle of a hoard of large homes.
A view of Kalamalka Lake from our upper deck
We have many walls on our property. We built most of them using large river bed rocks. The first spring we were in our house we had a dump truck load of river bed rocks delivered to our front yard. Later that same day, our builder called to say they wanted to come and form our drive-way the next day. Isn’t it funny that we had lived with a dirt drive way for 4 months and the day we have a ton of rocks delivered, our builder suddenly wants to form and pave our drive way? Some would call it, Murphy’s law but I just call it life and another lesson in letting go.
David with baby Clark and Alyssa looking at the hill in our front yard that we have to retain
The day of the rock delivery and our builder’s announcement, David came home from work and grimly started moving rock. We had waited four months to have our drive way put in and there was no way we were going to ask for an extension, since our builder was now side tracked building other homes, and we didn’t know when he would put some of his crew back to come and finish our home. I joined David in the yard, after tucking our two children into bed. It felt like they would never settle. Our three year old daughter Alyssa kept asking me to read, “just one more book,” and it took forever for our four month old son, Clark to finally drift to sleep at the breast. I had moved him from side to side to side until at last, with warm milk trickling from the side of his mouth, he pulled away from the breast with a contented smile and heavy lids. I put him down gently into his crib and grabbed my work gloves. David asked, “is he all tanked up?” and I replied, “yes, I’m all yours for at least four more hours.”
David had already moved a sizeable chunk of rocks and I knew he was getting punchy as he started to sing the “working on the chain gang,” song over and over. The sky grew dark and I turned on all the lights at the front of our house so we could see what we were doing. I started to sing the chain gang song with David and we laughed with exhaustion as the stars twinkled over head. The larger rocks we rolled to the new location in our front yard but for most of them, we picked them up and carried them over to the growing pile, then dropped them. This made a huge crack sound as they hit the rocks below and I’m sure, to our new neighbours, it must have sounded like a gun going off every few minutes. Finally, just before midnight we moved our last rock and baby Clark was waking to ask for a fill up.
“Lakelin Reach” before the drive way or side walk was formed….you can see the pool steps in the garage so the pool wasn’t even put in at this stage…oh the trim on the windows was not painted yet….the house has changed a lot in the last 25 years..see updated picture below
As it turned out, our builder decided that they couldn’t form the drive way the next day and if memory serves, they didn’t come for several more weeks. Another lesson in surrender and for some, it would have created the belief that contractors are unreliable. For me it created the belief that David and I working together can do anything.
David, Alyssa and Clark in front of the rock walls we built in our front yard
Sorry, picture crooked but yep, that’s me with the kids in the front yard….wow the plants have really grown since then….see below for a recent picture
Those rocks were the first of several deliveries that arrived, allowing us the material to build walls and terraces throughout our yard, in the effort to create flatter living areas in our outside spaces. David got very good at looking at a pile of rocks and remembering the size and quality of each and like a jig saw puzzle, he put each piece exactly where it belonged.
I was never so happy to see the last rock placed on that final wall 19 years ago and Baby Clark was over 6 years old and two little brothers had joined our family. I often wonder if our rock wall building obsession, in his formative years created a love for rocks in him. For years, I had to ruthlessly check his jean pockets for rocks before putting them in the wash. Last year, he graduated with a Science degree in Earth and Environmental studies; basically it’s the undergrad to becoming a geologist. Isn’t it true that we often come back to what we were raised with and what we learned to know well?
The walls we are building now, are to replace two landscape tie walls, each 50 feet wide and 3 feet high, that have rotted over the last 25 years. They were built above our pool to retain two terraced beds. At the time of construction, we just wanted to create two useful walls and in my wildest dreams I never thought we would live in our house long enough to have to replace them. Life is endlessly interesting and I never fail to be surprised with how things unfold! This time though, we are taking it slow, as we know this will be the last walls we build. David and I are getting older and we realize this is not just a wall, but a piece of the legacy we leave on our property.
In this picture you can see our pool to the left and the landscape retaining walls above…Alyssa playing with her plastic farm animals while David builds a rock wall to the right of the pool area
Three years later, our second son Mitchell was born in 1996 and in the rear of this picture you can see the landscape retaining wall and one of the rock walls built with rocks found from our own property as we were landscaping it….we are in fact on a mountain side so there were lots of rocks
We haven’t had a shipment of rocks delivered this time since there really isn’t a place to dump them and besides, we want to carefully select the rocks for our new walls. This summer we have been methodically taking down the landscape tie wall, section by section and moving the rotting remains to the dump in our family van. Then several times a week, when we have a spare evening, we take a drive into the nearby mountains to search for rocks.
The river bed rocks are just on the side of logging roads up in the mountains. Picking them ourselves gives us exactly the size and shape of rocks we want. If we were to have a ton delivered, even if we had somewhere to put them, we would receive round rocks, really large rocks and then some too small to work with as well. Picking them ourselves is hard work but we get what we want…and the price is right!
Thankfully, we have found a large mother lode of them off an old logging road where it looks like there once was a creek running through the area. As we lift our carefully selected rocks that have been settled into the ground for eons, it almost feels like a sacred ritual. David and I compete to see who lifts the biggest rock, or finds the nicest looking one. We smile at each other as we pass, hefting large boulders into the back of our van.
These rocks silent but heavy, with memory of days long past, are
relics reminding us of our impermanence on this earth.
Our van holds just enough rocks to build a 3 to 6 foot wide wall, 3 feet high…here are just a few we found one evening
As this is the type of work that is physically intense, but one in which the mind is free, I’ve been reflecting on our building material and on other types of walls; the walls we build inside ourselves. The walls that are built by our belief system, many formed when we are children, others through life experiences as we grow. Walls laden heavy with what we believe to be true, walls weighted with judgement regarding how we should maneuver through our life.
Years ago, I took a three part course called, “The Pursuit of Excellence.” The second part of the course was called, “The Wall,” and it took place on Orcas Island, near Seattle Washington. It was there, during some very effective self discovery exercises and out of my comfort zone experiences, that I discovered I had built many walls in my short 29 years of living. In fact, many were preventing me from experiencing a life rich and full. Those walls dictated what I felt I could or could not do in my life. During that pivotal long weekend course, I kicked down walls built on fear and shifted instead into a landscape full of endless possibilities.
So similar to the foundations we provided for our son Clark to learn to love rocks, I learned as a young adult while on Orcas Island to break down my walls and let go of my belief systems that were preventing me from living my best life. If I couldn’t knock those walls down, at least I could jump over them and see the possibilities on the other side. I also connected deeply with other strangers whom I met at that long weekend training session and realized we basically all want the same things on this planet; to be happy, to be loved, to live in peace, to make connections with others and to live a meaningful life.
As I lift these boulders and drop them at the base of what will be our new wall, I think about the family who may live in our house in a hundred years from now. Will they wonder about the Reynolds family who built this house, the family who raised eight children on this property? Perhaps they will find little plastic farm animals that our children often play with as we are building our rock walls.
The world is changing but not fast enough for me.
The beginning of our new walls…we are almost half way across. We plan to put a set of steps up the middle so you can easily go up to the hot tub from the pool
The wall from another angle….I can’t wait to have herbs, perennials, and maybe some watermelon growing in the beds above the pool…this area gets all day sun so is perfect for growing flowers of all kinds…bringing the bees and butterflies to our yard is important for our edible garden
Twenty five years ago we built this house….you can hardly see it from the road any longer with all the plants that have grown in our rock wall terraced beds
Seriously I need to get the pruning shears out soon but here is the last rock wall we built 19 years ago…in the corner is a little pond with fountain spray…this is the bottom of our drive way
This is the same area, 25 years later, of the picture of the hillside I showed you above…these two terraced rock wall beds give us lovely privacy in our front yard and the bonus of having a drive way that goes down…the kid’s balls don’t go out onto the road…they are safe…that is unless they don’s sled down our drive way in the winter time….although it’s been done!
There are more walls that need to be taken down……
Last Friday, there was a protest by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, a quiet college town. They were carrying torches and chanting horrific racist remarks and at the end of it all, a young woman was dead and many more injured.
And for what I keep asking myself? It’s the same old wall that holds up the belief that if you don’t look like me, if you don’t believe what I believe, then you must be eradicated from this earth. When is this fear and hatred going to end on this planet? I often think it’s strange that we don’t see the Indigenous people’s marching against the invasion of immigrants to North America. They certainly have more right to do so than these white nationalist, who seem to think they were the first ones to come to this land.
Anyway, here I am, trying to remain impartial and only observe and yet, judgement creeps into my consciousness at every turn.
WHAT HOPE DOES THIS WORLD HAVE?
I lift my quiet watchers of the world and place them on our land, hoping that in a hundred years from now things will be different. Hoping, some of the barriers that are preventing this earth from being a place of peace will have been broken down. People will finally realize that we are all connected on this planet and when hatred and violence occurs, like a pebble being thrown into a pond, the ripples reverberate out to the farthest shore and touch us all.
With that same knowledge I believe peaceful thoughts do the same and so, with that in mind I head out to our backyard and recite my prayer,
“May all beings be well, happy and peaceful.”
The rocks are watching.
As I say goodbye to you today, I’m singing, “What’s Going On,” with Marvin Gaye. Please join me, and let’s keep taking down walls of racism and hatred and build a world full of peace and love.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Have you heard of the toys called, “Fidget Spinners?” If you are not in the kid realm, I’ll clue you in. “Fidget spinners” are small, ball-bearing devices that the user can rotate between his or her fingers. The momentum of the toy provides a pleasing sensory experience Originally the spinners were marketed as an aide for individuals with anxiety, autism or ADHD, which is basically everyone. I don’t know about you, but few people I know are free from anxiety these days.
What a GREAT marketing strategy~!
My son William, who just turned 8 years old at the end of June, desperately wanted a spinner. “ALL,” the kids at school have them he said, and besides he thought they looked so cool. I resisted buying him one for the longest time. Ever since our last BIG garage sale two years ago, when we did a mass de-clutter, and I started on a more minimalist path, I’ve been REALLY trying to be mindful of what we purchase.
Another thing that influenced me/us, was that we had walked this path with our older children. I remember the Bay blade craze and the mad scramble one Christmas for one type of Lego, Bionicle figure. I knew that it was only a matter of weeks that this toy too would start collecting dust in the corner of a closet and I would be the one to unearth it and in time, decide it’s value and where it was to go after my son stopped playing with it.
What made me cave was my son William. When his birthday drew near we had a conversation about what he wanted to do on his special day and what he would really like for a gift. He looked at me with his clear blue eyes, his blonde curls circling his sweet face and he said, “mom, whatever you get me, I will love.”
Ahhhhhhhhh!
That was it, I was going to make his dreams come true. I was going to find him a fidget spinner.
William’s face as he unwrapped his fidget spinner (and we bought him the fidget cube too) was ecstatic For the next two weeks, that red, spinning toy was always at the end of his finger. I would try to talk with him and he would be totally absorbed in the activity of flicking his finger so his spinner would move faster.
We choose experiences over a big party with friends and he wanted to go climbing walls with his sisters
Our son is always reaching new heights
After the climbing party, it was a dip in the pool,
And now for his strawberry shortbread birthday cake…Will LOVES strawberries!!!
“This was the BEST day EVER!!!” said Will at the end of his 8th birthday
One night I came into his bedroom after he had been tucked away for the night and a brilliant spinning rainbow filled light was floating in the dark. Rats, I knew we shouldn’t have bought the one with a LED light inside so not only was he obsessed during the day, the fidget spinner was keeping him from sleeping at night.
Now for some children this toy may be fine but I found it was a distraction in our home and instead of helping him focus, he seemed more scattered. and even restless, moving his body, as he spun. When we were talking to him, he would be flicking his spinner and there would be no eye contact. Also, I found he was getting annoyed more often, especially if he was directed to do something and he had to put the spinner down.
I decided to sit down and have a talk with him. He was surprised to hear that I thought the spinner had negative effects on him. Reluctantly, he agreed to take a break from it for awhile. He put it in one of the drawers in his room and agreed to spend more time playing his cello, reading, playing basketball, board games and card games with his sisters, swimming in the pool, riding bikes and his new scooter, which was the other gift we gave him for his birthday.
Shortly after that, we picked up a wonderful book at the library that we had read last winter but I never acted on it. It always surprises me how things and people are put on our path,exactly when they are needed. “Peaceful Piggy”, by Kerry Lee Mclean, is a lovely story about little pigs who find life sometimes too busy and stressful. When the little piggies starts to sit and focus on their breathing, they suddenly find they are more relaxed and feel calmer.
They are smiling.
The kids loved the book and also wanted to try the experiment suggested at the end of the book. We got a big pickle jar and filled it with water. We watched how clear and clean it was in the jar.
Looking at the clear water, I got them to think of it as their mind, during a quiet moment.
Then I had them add a bit of sand from their sandbox. Each tiny grain is one of our thoughts. Some are happy, some are sad, some are exciting, and some are dark and angry thoughts. They all effect how we feel.
Then we put a lid on the jar and shook it up and watched everything swirling around faster and faster. I told them that this was their mind in a hurry. It doesn’t look too good; muddy and cloudy. Then we let everything settle to the bottom of the jar. This is our mind during meditation.
We watched the thoughts settle to the bottom, leaving the jar, (our mind) look lighter and clearer. I told them that when we settle our thoughts during meditation, all the yucky parts of our day fall to the bottom and we can move through our days with clearer thinking and feeling lighter. Feeling lighter helps us move through our days more peacefully and we are able to flow through our challenging times and adjust to life’s changes easier.
After that exercise, we practiced meditating together. It was fun. We lit a candle and I put a soft CD on and rang a little bell. I asked the kids to focus on their breath, in and out, slowly, s l o w l y. When thoughts come to the surface I suggested the kids shift them out of the way by saying a mantra; the one I suggested is “So Hum,” which means “I am,” in Sanskrit.
At the end of the session, I had the children join together in making a wish and at the count of three, blow out the candle together. The next day after lunch they asked, “is it time to meditate?”
Since then there have been wonderful spin offs, no pun intended after talking about the fidget spinner, but when my children have a frustrating moment, or get angry about something, all I have to do is say, “So Hum,” and they stop and take a deep, slow breathe. When they slow down they are able to look at the situation and how they are reacting to it. What an amazing gift! Also, the look on William’s face AFTER his first meditation sessions, relaxed and serene was the answer I had been looking for.
Now I don’t want to bash the fidget spinner, used for short sessions, it’s fun and teaches kids about physics etc, but what I discovered was that instead of us filling our kids lives with a kaleidoscope of spinning activities, maybe just sitting and breathing is one of the best activities we can encourage them to do this summer.
Be still,
And know,
I AM.
I think teaching children that they are powerful beings, (So hum) is sustainable and that is really what this blog is about.(Helping Our Planet Earth) I want my kids to feel like they have total control over how they view their world and their choices they make on their path.
The quote I started this blog post with is, “If every eight year old is taught meditation in the world, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.” ~Dalai Lama~
Well I have an eight year old, AND my greatest wish FOR HIM, is that there is peace in the world.
While I want my children well educated, and to develop talents and gifts that will build their self confidence, I think the most important thing I could ever give them is a light illuminating a path to themselves. The bread crumbs to their soul is their breath. So I don’t know about you, but that fidget spinner is staying in the drawer this summer, and the kids and the kids and I am going to be still together and breathe.
The benefits of meditation for children are HUGE. And this quote from an article called, “Five Reasons Children need to meditate.” says it all. “Did you know that regular practice of meditation has several beneficial effects on our children’s emotional, mental and intellectual development? Yes, it helps children tune into themselves, sleep better and develop better social interactions.”
What is funny to me about this is, if it cost something, maybe we would put more value in it. If we had to stand in line to get it, we would desire it more and if it was hard to find, we would all want it. But, the amazing thing is it is free for all of us. It’s easy, obtainable, and something we all have access to. I don’t know about you, but I want THAT for my kids;
Peace of mind, peace in the world.
Thankfully summer is the perfect time to introduce such a practice.
Want to join us?
If you would like to listen to the “Peaceful Piggy,” story I found a Youtube video which I have linked below. If you have a little one in your life, watch it with them and ask them to sit with you for a few minutes, focus on their breath and find a mantra that works for you. .
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and be a peaceful piggy too.
Thanks for coming to visit today. I’m sorry I’ve been in ex-communicado. In the last month, A LOT of stuff has been going on at the homestead.
Of course, Easter came and went. The kids above, William, Victoria and Kathryn with their eggs they decorated and my classic bunny cake in the fore ground….this was coconut though so it was even yummier than usual. (I will do a blog post about my coconut cake baking of late)
Then,
A month ago, on Earth day, I started working at my gardening gig.
I love it!
I love being around the plants, the people and the staff who work there.
It’s a perfect fit for me since I’m a green ambivert. I get a real high being and talking with people, especially about growing plants and helping them select flowers and veggies for their garden. It takes me into a BLISSFUL state.
You know you have found your calling when time flies and you are in BLISS.
But I also love when we have time at the garden centre to meditatively maintain the plants and the crowds have slowed down. Making the garden centre look great is also a blissful process.
These cute planters are made by one of my co-workers…she’s very creative and they were perfect for Mother’s Day!
Yes, all was well at first but ya know, when you are running the ship all year round and you take a bit of a leave, the balance shifts and the ship starts to list. When at I’m at work, the house work isn’t kept up, groceries aren’t purchased, healthy meals aren’t produced AND eaten. Then we are scrambling to take kids to school or pick them up at the end of the day and take them to their activities or in our older kids cases; THEIR jobs.
Yes JOBS.
Now it feels like our whole family is working outside the house. So grateful for the work!
Of course, like Murphy’s law the week that I start working, our oldest son Clark, who has been working part time at his Science centre job since finishing his degree last June, also gets another job. And this landscaping gig is full time and GREAT. Also, it will provide the financial boost he needs to start law school, which hopefully he will start in the fall. Fingers crossed, still waiting to hear if the ONLY law school he applied at will accept him. A whole other story! But hey, I’m holding the vision and having faith… that everything will work out there.
Anyway we are happy and excited to see more money roll in but of course my number 1 helper for driving little kids around and pitching in around the house and yard is GONE now 7 days a week. Yep, he’s been working now over 21 days straight since he has kept his weekend job going as well.
Clark helping dispose of all the stumps and roots from the plants we dug up in our beds….some were 200 hundred pounds….here are only a few
Oh, and yes, then there is also our 18 year old son, Harrison, who will graduate from high school soon and decided he needed to start looking for a job a bit before summer and beat the hordes of kids who will all be looking for summer employment. Thankfully, the first place he applied at hired him but interestingly enough his job started just a bit before I started working too. OF course! His dad is thrilled though since his part time job is at Home Depot. This massive store has to be my husband David’s favourite place to shop.There is something about being around tools, lumber and all that hardware that puts a smile on his face.
So we were happy for Harrison, even though now that he is working, it adds another twist tp our already busy schedule. But since he will be off to University soon, and can use the money from his job to offset school expenses we will be thankful. With the gain there is a loss and in this case my lawn mower, and number two cook and bottle washer in the kitchen has left the building to carry lumber and plant material to people’s cars. BOO!
So with everyone working, and our usual busy list of kid activities and school affairs, the ship was listing badly and although we weren’t drowning, I had my eyes on the lifeboats.
Then the storm came.
It was three weeks ago when I woke up out of the dead of night to hear a seal barking. Odd. Was that in my dream? As I came more fully awake, I realized it was coming from the twins room. I grabbed my robe and went to investigate. I found our tiny Kate,one of our 5 year old twins sitting up in bed barking with a terrible croupy cough.
Oh, I have heard that before. Funny none of our older children ever had it but when our 6th little one was a toddler he had several very scary croupy sessions. One night we flew him to the emergency room extremely worried we would lose him as he was turning blue trying to catch his breath. I kept thinking that I had worked so hard to finally bring him to earth and then we lose him at 18 months….. but in all the in and out of the car and the cold night air flowing, by the time we got to the hospital, while he was still coughing his colour was better.
Kate turned to me with panic in her eyes and I knew it was critical. I swooped her out of her upper loft bed, wrapped a big comforter around her and flew out our master bedroom door to our back deck and into the cold night air. Please let her breathe, was what I was thinking. As I held her close, her little body wracked with a loud barking cough. I could hear tiny gasps of breath wheezing through so I told her to take little breaths. “Little breaths Katie, little breaths.” The night air hit me like a freight train and I shivered as I held her close, pulling the comforter around her shoulders and neck. I was praying and praying that the coughing would ease and she would be able to breathe easier.
If you have ever experienced such a moment with your child, you know you pray with all your being. In my case, I was just thinking, let her live and I will be a better mom. It’s scary out there in the dark night air and not knowing if this will be enough to open up her airways. Thankfully, after what felt like hours and was really only about 1/2 hour her coughing eased but I kept her out for another 1/2 hour more until the coughing was just intermittent. Finally, I stood up with her bundled in my arms and took her to my bed. My husband hadn’t woken up at all but he has been known to sleep through all of our 8 babies crying, even the twins, so I wasn’t surprised.
I got the vaporizer set up beside my side of the bed and putting Kate on the outside of our bed, I had her face in the flow of cool air. I crawled in beside her and held her close. Somehow we drifted off to sleep. When she woke up, while she was extremely tired, the worst was over.
Or I thought!
Although she recovered, a few days later William came home coughing from school and for about a week he was under the weather but he pushed through school for a few days and then seemed to recover over the weekend. Then he returned to school but while at his first day of swimming lessons with his class, he crashed and that day his fever spiked. When I picked him up after school at the end of the day he was laying in the school office’s sick room, burning up with a fever. He kept saying to me, “I had to push through” I felt so bad because he was one sick little boy.
For two days I nursed him with Tylenol and fluids but when he didn’t improve we took him to the Dr. It was then that we discovered that his virus had turned into a bacterial infection and he was promptly put on antibiotics. Also, they wanted a chest X-ray. The next morning, I got my sick little boy dressed and I took him down to the X-ray clinic only to find out their power was out and we would have to come back.
Do you ever feel like the world is against you? Well, this was one of those times. Everything felt like it was ready to collapse. Later that day I roused him again and finally we got his x-ray done but you know your child who has TONS of energy normally, is really sick when he is quiet and listless.
Of course William wasn’t the only one sick at this point. Grace, our 14 year old was battling what we discovered was the same virus which by the weekend had worsened and when we took her to the Dr. we found out she had a throat infection and was also put on antibiotics….and William’s x-rays confirmed our worst fear; pneumonia!
I still find it interesting that Will’s infection manifested in his lungs and Grace’s in her throat. Sadly, she had been chosen to sing for a voice scholarship at our music school and she could hardly talk, let alone sing so she missed that opportunity. Why do things like this always happen?
The other kids also had varying ills; sore throats, runny noses, tired, and over all we were all falling apart.
Oh, on top of all that, did I mention that my husband David had to go out of to work for a few days AND our washing machine decided to stop working. Yes! Don’t you love it when things really fall apart?
Because that is when your faith is really TESTED!
Thankfully, my employers were so understanding and even though it’s their busy season my boss kept saying to me, “babies come first.” I was able to focus on nursing my children, making sure they took their medication, they were hydrated and once they turned the corner which was days, I was able to ease them back into eating food. Mostly smoothies at first and I made a chicken and noodle soup with ginger and on another day a minestrone.
I must have traveled from the kitchen to their rooms about 50 times a day but by the end of the week they were able to get out of bed and lay on the couch in the family room.
When I wasn’t nursing sick kids, I was sterilizing our house. I went around and washed down door handles and bathrooms and I scrubbed our house with sudsy soapy water with vinegar…everywhere. When the kids finally were feeling better, I was exhausted but I went to work for the weekend as David was able to take over. Our washing machine was still broken though, so we had to take loads of wash to the laundry mat….oh that weekend was fun.
Minestrone recipe coming soon….it was sooooo good!!!
Although I felt like I was fighting something, there is power in having a purpose, and also being out in the fresh air, albeit mostly cold as it’s been such a rainy and wet spring, (I think this has been part of the problem as we need to all dry up!!!) that kept me going.
So while I did have to put my family in their life jackets and we got in the life boats for awhile, we
never drowned.
William starting to mend and was very hungry….check out the quote on his shirt…empowering our children with their own mantras and building layers of faith is an important way to give them life long tools
There was even a day at the end of the week when the kids were watching movies in the family room that I was finally able to get out and fill my two, newly made raised beds with the LASAGNA gardening method. David had built one and then another 4×8 raised garden beds and it was my job to fill them.
It’s really a fun way of creating lovely garden soil for your plants and instead of just bringing in a truck load of top soil, it’s a lot easier and more in line with how Mother Nature makes rich hummus.
I started by laying a thick layer of newspaper in the bottom of the bed to cover the grass and then I laid large pieces of heavy cardboard on top of that. I made sure to water each layer as I went. On top of the cardboard I put about 6 inches of chicken bedding. The last time I had cleaned out the chicken house was at the end of November. All winter we used the deep litter method; where you just keep laying down a fresh bed of pine shavings and the chickens dig that in with their manure.
After laying down the newspaper and cardboard I watered it really well…note nearby hose…
Time to really clean out the chicken run and coop…here is Sadie in the run, she loves to get underfoot and get a pet
I thought I would be cleaning out their chicken house long before May but it had been so cold that I kept putting it off, plus the bedding helps to keep the chicken’s warm. Cleaning the run and coop was perfectly timed with building the raised bed as this dirt/ pine shavings/ chicken manure, although not composted, was good fill for next to the cardboard.
After that layer, I mowed our lawn which was really long with all the rain and I added the lawn clippings on top of the chicken run material. Then I added the dry leaves I had kept from last fall and after the leaves, I added another layer of newspaper, just ’cause I had it and I wanted to bring the worms to the surface…..since they love wet newspaper. To top off the bed I had some aged compost and finally I added a few bags of organic dirt since I would be planting right in this bed.
You can see some of the layers in this picture
Although the ideal time to make a lasagna bed is in the fall, you can do it any time as long as you make sure you are planting in aged compost or soil as I did this spring.
Once my beds were ready, it was time to dig up my old strawberry bed that was getting old and needed to be refurbished. Plus, with my cedars growing tall beside the old strawberry beds, they really needed more sunshine so moving them to an all day sun location will allow the strawberries to produce sweeter and more abundantly. So I dug up the newer plants in the bed, (which were created from the runners from the mother plant) and moved them all over to the raised garden beds.
I was able to get 32 plants in each bed so with two raised beds we now have 64 strawberry plants. Although we will be taking off the blossoms this year to allow the energy to go into the plant, next year we should be able to get .5 to 1 lb of strawberries from every foot of garden…which means 32 to 64 pounds of strawberries next year. So worth the effort to make these beds!
As I was layering in all the garden waste, and planting the beautiful strawberry plants on top, I was thinking about life. Being out in the garden always gets me reflecting on my life and how I walk my path.
I was thinking about the last few weeks and how I have had to draw on my layers of faith that I have been laying down my whole life.
From my childhood, I learned many Bible stories and how to love God. I learned how Jesus came to earth to be able to experience this human condition (really tough at times even in 1st World countries) and how God so loved us that he was willing to let Jesus die on the cross for us. (If you are turned off by words of God or Jesus, hang in there ’cause I’m making my point…this for my daughter Alyssa and others who may feel the same)
On the days when I think I can’t go on, what keeps me going is a bible verse I found as a child on a bookmark in my mom’s Bible. It read,
“I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13 of the New King James Version
Surely, as a young widow of 40 with 4 daughters to watch over, my mom had to use that verse daily to get her through the first few years after my dad died and I have found great comfort and inspiration in using it as well. On my darkest days, I recite it with each breath. Just as my little Katie was gasping for air when she had croup, I breathe it into my soul and it sustains me.
But for me, my faith is multi layered and I often think of my Buddhist teachings as well; reciting more wise words;
“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.”
Knowing that my mind is powerful, when I stay present and focus in on what I’m thinking, what I’m experiencing, what I believe and what I want to achieve, it moves me forward with intent. I am grateful that I learned early in my life that I am not alone, that God always walks with me, and I have been given powerful tools to create a rich and meaningful life.
But the inspiration does not end there.
Oh no!
I think of Mother Teresa and her endless compassion when I parent my children and her loving words come to mind,
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
When I recite those words, I think of the peace that emanated from Mother Teresa and how her kind, love and compassion still vibrates on this earth. Those vibrations touch me and fill me up.
Then there is my admiration for Mahatma Gandhi and his humanitarian heart. He was the one who said,
“Religions are different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads, so long as we reach the same goal …”
Throughout history and even now there are wars being fought against people’s varying religions and beliefs. Each person thinking that their way of looking at the world is right and just. I think this is one reason I have layered my faith because there isn’t just one right faith. (in my humble opinion anyway)
I think this is also the reason a few of my older children have chosen to turn away from religion as they see so much contradiction in the world. How can people who claim they are religious, hurt others, or make judgement calls. They just don’t get it…and I see their point of view but it’s sad ’cause having faith is a powerful tool in life but we don’t have to use it against each other. We need it to lift us up.
Why can’t we all just come together and make one big lasagna, full of delicious ingredients, creating a diverse and fertile soil for everyone to thrive in. Anything to get us through our days and to keep us connected with each other. Anything to bring peace to this earth. Let peace, hope, faith, and love be the layers we need to build humanity’s soil.
In the last month, with sick kids, a broken washing machine, and everything else, it all adds weight to our boat, somehow I was able to get through it all and I can only say that it was my faith that pulled me through.
Somehow I’m able to reach down to my gut and my heart grows immensely, like the Grinch’s heart once he realized the true meaning of Christmas, it expands and I become a super person with endless power, knowing ANYTHING is possible.
In the end, AND IN THE END,…...all shall be well.
And while we are all still feeling like we are fighting a virus, I hope the worst is over. I hope the sun shines soon, that we all warm up, that the floods that are plaguing many parts of our country abate. That the people in power leading our countries wake up and realize that we aren’t playing a game, the only people who win in the end are the ones who, like the Grinch realize it’s all about sharing and being loving.
I have to hope and pray, and hold the vision that I have the power to change the world. At least in my little part of it anyway. For now in my homestead the kids are healing, the washer has been repaired (albeit is leaking…another issue for another day) summer is only around the corner. To keep me going though, something I have dreamed of for several years has come into my life.
I worked late on Mother’s Day, so when I came home the kids had already eaten their dinner and were in their jammies. When they heard my car drive up they yelled, “mommy!!!!” I settled in the living room and while I ate my dinner, Grace played a mini concert for me on the piano and then the kids brought me in a huge big gift wrapped box in paper they had decorated with flowers and hearts. Each child had taken a side and were thrilled to show me their creations. It was too pretty to rip through but they really wanted me to open the gift so finally I tore through the paper and found……drum roll please…..
A VITAMIX!!!!!!!
Finally, one of my long held dreams has come true. Oh, I know, it’s a material thing but if you put me in a tiny house tomorrow with only a few items, this would be one of the only things I would want in my kitchen.
Plus the side benefit is that we get to make smoothies and rather than juicing and losing all the good pulp fibre…we can eat it.
The next morning after I returned from driving the kids to school, I speedily ready through the quick start instructions and figured out how to make a green smoothie…. which I promptly did.
Yum, yum, yum!
When the kids came home I had a berry/banana/yogurt smoothie ready for them…….with a ton of spinach too and they didn’t even notice it!
So in the end, some valuable lessons were learned this spring. That anything is possible if you hold onto your faith. That dreams come true, and that sometimes you have to ask for some help. Not an easy thing for me. The circle of people outside of my immediate family were there for me; .my employers, my co-workers, the kid’s teachers, our family Doctor, my sisters.
All shall be well!
And before I close my blog I wanted to share a song by George Harrison, “Give me love, give me peace on earth.” The lyrics from this song lift me up, “give me hope, help me cope, with this heavy load, trying to touch and reach you with heart and soul.”
I’m grateful for faith!
And if you watch that video…hang in there and watch the subsequent one that follows, another fav of mine, I cry when I hear George singing, “My Sweet Lord.”
I hope your life is good right now. That your days are easy, that the sun is shining and you are well, but if you feeling like you are drowning, you are not alone. Be gentle on yourself, eat well, get rest when you can, count what blessings you have in your life, connect with others and layer a little faith into your days.
All shall be well!
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Have you been joining Deepak, Oprah and me in the 21 day, “Hope in Uncertain Times.” meditation series? If so, I’m so HAPPY! You are probably heightened to how the feelings of hope sustains you in your life. I can’t imagine life without it. Doing this meditation series has inspired me to write a little piece on “Hope and Me.” (And then share my banana bread recipe with you)
Maybe it will get you thinking about times in your life when hope kept you going.
I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s; a time when peace marches were common, and a book called, “Silent Spring,” by Rachel Carson, ignited the environmental movement like nothing since , “Henry David Thoreau’s book “Walden’s Pond,” which had been published over 100 years earlier. Suddenly, like a tidal wave changing an idyllic landscape after World War two, protests erupted all over the world regarding social issues, environmental concerns and race equality. What lay grounded beneath us all, was a thread of hope that if we all pulled together, we could evoke change.
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will ensure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” ~Rachel Carson, “Silent Spring”
John Lennon’s song, “Imagine,” was a powerful song for that era, “I hope someday you join us and the world will live as one.”
Has a lot changed since then?
Is there still hope in the world?
If you asked my son who has a degree in Environmental Science, you would think all hope is lost. I think David Suzuki shares his opinion and yet, without hope, what remains? We need to keep believing that what we do makes a difference on this earth.
Is there any other way to live?
“We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost‘s familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.” ~Rachel Carson, “Silent Spring.”
There was a time in my life that felt hopeless but as long as there is life, there is hope. At least we can keep moving in the direction of being conscious of our choices and deciding how we want to live our life. With hope, or without.
So, without further ado, here is my piece called, “Hope and Me.” It’s a jig saw memoir piece and if you linger afterwards, what goes really well with a little bit of hope? well of course a steaming cup of hot tea and a slice of banana bread still warm from the oven!.
Using a well- known quote of Oprah’s, “what I know for sure,” is that, hope sustains us. Somehow, lying, quietly under the surface of my childhood, the seeds of hope survived. A childhood filled with neglect and loneliness. After my father was killed in an Esso truck accident in 1965, when I was five years old, my mother, also left this earth. Oh sure, she was present physically. But my memory of her is as an empty shell, moving gently with the tide of our days. After Dad died, I also lost my safe and comfortable life.
Adding to the grief, a year later we left the only hometown I had known, ironically called, Hope. We also left two of my older sisters; one who was finishing high school and the other who had just started her banking career. My mom, older sister J and I moved to a nearby city called Chilliwack, which was named for the indigenous tribe who originally settled there and in their language it meant, “quieter waters.” I’m sure mom wanted us to make a fresh start in a city that didn’t know our sorrow, on the shores of a bubbling brook, instead of a river flooded with pain and pity. But a black cloud followed us wherever we went, always threatening to rain tears.
The dark oppressive worry of money hovered overhead as well, and when most children are ignorant of the weight of money, I was acutely aware of its lack. I will never forget when our hot water tank burst and we desperately needed to have it replaced but there was no money for that. My mother’s worried brow covered me in a heavy coat of anxiety. I can remember going to school wondering if others could smell poverty on my skin. Then one night my mom left my sister J and I, to go to bingo with my Auntie Geordie, who was also a struggling single mom. The next morning I found mom humming in the kitchen. She had won the exact amount needed to replace the hot water tank at bingo.
Mom used all her energy to keep the roof over our head, working hard at her hotel front desk clerk position. She often worked the shift that started at 4 pm so she wasn’t there for long when I came home from school and I didn’t see her in the mornings either, since she was sleeping after working the night shift. When she was home, not knowing any other way to engage with her, I would act out or be whiny. It must have been like fingernails on a mother’s chalkboard back. She would put up with it to a point and then suddenly without warning, she’d fly out of her carefully, controlled shell and yell, “Debbie, go to your room and don’t come out until you’re going to be happy.”
As a result, I spent most of my childhood in my bedroom. I would draw pictures of perfect families; starting with a tall Dad and then a bit smaller mom and finally, I would draw children, lots of children; boys and girls and babies, lots of babies. In many of my drawings, looking back at them years later, for my mom saved just about everything, I noticed there was often an angel floating above the families. Was I even conscious of drawing one hovering above at the time?
I remember on several occasions, being sent to my room rather violently, my mom grabbing a piece of my hair and hurtling me towards my bedroom door, which prompted intense feelings of anger and sadness. Feeling unwanted, I would write long, drawn out goodbye letters, hoping my mom would feel remorseful about pulling my hair once she discovered me gone. Then I would stuff my pillowcase with books, my favourite Suzy Q doll and a small, shabby pink blanket. I would escape through my open window and crawl over to the hydrangea bush in our front yard.
It was there, in the shelter and shade of that large shrub, that I would sit on my blanket, with Suzy Q by my side and we would be swept away to other worlds reading books. The ground smelled earthy and comforting and when the hydrangea was in bloom, with its large blue lacy like blossoms, I could spend hours under such graceful beauty. Eventually though, hunger would win out and I would crawl back through my window and notice my goodbye note undisturbed.
No one has missed me at all.
And such was my childhood. Books helped me escape my loneliness. Sara from, “The Little Princess,” Mary from “The Secret Garden,” and my all- time favourite, “Anne with an e, from Green Gables,” became my closest confidants. Anne said, “Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.” And reading outside in the garden restored my soul, so I could endure life. I hoped that like the delicate hydrangea bush that sheltered me, that my life would one day blossom beautifully.
As I pen this childhood memory, a lifetime has elapsed allowing me to draw on many experiences. In hindsight yes, my childhood was sad and lonely but it’s always been during the darkest moments in my life that I have grown the most. Losing my dad, taught me more about life than a lifetime with him in it. And spending my darkest days under the hydrangea bush inspired a love of gardening. When I’m sad all I have to do is go out into nature and I can find my way home again.
If I had one of those childhood drawings to show you today, you would see that I am the smiling mom in the picture and beside me is a strong and tall man. My husband David is my oak tree, his branches reach out wide, sheltering me from life’s wind and rain. Above his deep roots, I blossom and thrive and together we provide a safe home for our family to grow. He is dad to our 8 incredible, deeply loved children.
They were with me when I was small, little seeds of hope just waiting underground, lying dormant until the sun warmed the earth. They sustained me.
And my mom you ask, who knew, she was with me always, in the only way that she could be and hope sustained her too. And since she has been gone for 5 years now, I’d like to believe she is the angel watching over me.
What I know for sure is that hope sustains us and I wouldn’t want to live any other way.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..The End
Well, that is one of my life pieces and someday, who knows, maybe I can put the whole picture together. Writing this blog has been not just a way to inspire others to look at ways they can live their life more mindfully, but I hope when I share intimate stories like the one above, it also gets others thinking about the dark days in their life and despite it all their roots burrowed deeper, looking for the nourishment of hope, allowing them to blossom into the person they are today…. beautifully.
And what else sustains us? Good comfort food. For me, banana bread has always been right up there on that comfort list. How about you? And recently I made loaf after loaf of it and it was consumed as fast as it was on the cooling racks, so I think I’m not alone in my feelings about it.
The base recipe I use is from my, “Pillsbury Complete Book of Baking.” Although I have tried many banana bread recipes, I keep coming back to this one. It always gives me THE PERFECT TEXTURE, that I love in banana bread. A good tip for making great bread is to wait until you have REALLY ripe bananas for great texture and taste. Not always easy in our house as we eat our bananas as fast as they come in but occasionally they do get a few brown speckles on them.
Banana Bread (Note: I double the recipe below and make two loafs as it goes FAST!!!)
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter (or sometimes I use coconut oil)
2 eggs
1 cup (2 ripe bananas) mashed bananas
1/3 cup milk (I use almond milk but coconut milk would be great too)
1 tsp vanilla (since I double the recipe, I use 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp coconut extract)
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts if desired…I use walnuts and you can throw a handful of coconut in as well
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom only of 9×5 or 8×4 inch loaf pans. In large bowl, beat sugar and margarine/butter or coconut oil until light an fluffy. Beat in eggs. Add bananas, milk and vanilla. Blend well. In small bowl, combine flour, nuts baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Add to banana mixture; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into greased pan.
Bake at 350 F for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes then remove from pan. Cool completely, then wrap tightly and store in refrigerator.
Yields 1 loaf…16 slices.
(For a variation you can add 1 cup applesauce instead of bananas,and add 3/4 tsp cinnamon with the flour)
These were the first loaves I made recently
I can deal with anything when I have a cup of tea and a slice of banana bread, how ’bout you?
I made so many loaves that when I made the loaves in this picture, I hardly had any flour left. I only had enough for 2 cups but since I was doubling my recipe, I put 2 cups of oatmeal in the food processor and made 2 cups of oat flour and although it was still delicious…the loaf didn’t rise as high.
And for a peak into the homestead;
What’s been happening around here lately?
Lots of juicing
Lots of drinking said juice…almost forgot to snap a picture of this drink…it was so good and almost gone when I remembered to share it with you…the ginger, apples and carrots make it ZING!
The little kids have been building bridges with spaghetti at the Science Centre…I know, William Einstein!
More bridges..this time with marshmallows…Victoria Einstein!
A future structural engineer for sure…less marshmallows, more angles for strength, Kathryn Einstein!
And then the real work of late:
David starting to chain saw our 25 year old plants. If you are wanting to know what the best chain saw is for your homestead, check out this article from Mother Earth News
We are ripping out 25 year old plants from the beds above our pool since the landscape tie wall has deteriorated. Last week, David was chain sawing all the plants and those who were able, (the older boys and I) were hauling them down to our lower lawn area. Since then, we had a wonderful company in to chip the whole works and now this week it’s been all about digging up the roots and monster stumps.
Even though our son Harrison had started working at Home Depot part time, he also came out to help every chance he had. The weather has been cloudy, cold and rainy for much of April (In the picture above you can see the wall collapsing.)
Wish I couldn’t have kept all chippings from this pile…it would make great mulch for our new beds
Every thing is up, except the stumps…now the real work begins
Our oldest son Clark has been an amazing helper with regards to this project. (I’m thankful he’s been going to the gym and lifting weights all winter long!) The next step is taking down the old wall and rebuilding a new one. Then comes the fun part….replanting. This time though we will be planting herbs, some flowers and LOTS of food. I’m probably the only one planting edibles around my pool in our subdivision but it just makes sense if we are going to water anything, that it will be food. Since this area gets hot, hot sun all summer long, I think we will try to grow watermelon, cantalopes and maybe some grapes up the deck support posts.
My sister J came for a visit today, (waving Hi J…you always make my day) and asked what I will use to amend the soil since it’s currently not great. I’m going to use the “Back to Eden” gardening method and plan to mulch it heavily with wood chips, amending the soil only around each hole I dig for my plants. The cedar will eventually decompose and thereby improving the soil. Click on the hyperlink above if you want to watch the Back to Eden film.
The next project is also building some raised garden beds in our lower lawn area. The goal is to lose the grass and increase the garden space.We plan to also build 4×4 raised bed for each of the little people. One of our twin daughters, 5 year old Victoria, recently told us that when she grows up she wants to be a farmer so she can feed children all over the world. She heard that children go hungry all over the world and she doesn’t understand how that is possible. The solution seems so simple to her; just grow more food. Seems simple to me too. If we all did our part, even in our small backyards, no one would go hungry again.
What are you growing in your back forty this year?
Thanks for coming to visit. I hope something you have read here lifts you up, brightens your day and keeps you focused on your dreams. I told my sister J that I would REALLY like to write happier, more light filled posts and my next one will be that. In my next post, check out the amazing coconut cake I made recently in honour of my sister J’s birthday.
Now that is something to be happy about! Sisters and cake. Oh, there is so much good in the world!
Until we meet again, may hope sustain you, and may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Welcome to my homestead. After writing about Grandma Hulda and sharing our family’s recipe for old fashion pinwheel date cookies I thought I would share another great recipe and such a classic; Chocolate Chip cookies!
Oh don’t you just love a freshly baked, still warm from the oven, chocolate chip cookie? It takes me back to my teenage years. I know you would think it would take me back to a younger time in my childhood but after my dad died when I was 6, I don’t remember my mom doing any baking for years. In fact, I was the one who would bake in our home, so hungry was I for baked goods. When I was around age 9 or 10, I started baking Biscuit dough from a box and I would stuff the center with mincemeat. Whenever we had guests I would make those but I cringe now wondering how good they really were. At the time I thought I was such an amazing cook. Ha!
When I was 12 my mom remarried a man named, Bud (John Ray Finch) who had been a custom’s officer in Campbell River on Vancouver Island. My mom met Bud at the Empress Hotel in Chilliwack, where she worked as a front desk clerk. Leaving my sister J behind to finish school, the three of us created a new family and moved to Creston, B.C, in the Kooteneys and started a new chapter in our life.
It was there in our large 100 year old, historic home on the hill that my mom started to bake again. I can remember coming home in the fall, my cheeks flush with cold and the smell of pinwheel cookies, or chocolate cookies, would rise up to meet me when I opened the back door leading to our homey kitchen.
I’d like to believe that I’m creating those same sorts of memories for our children and this blog is also another legacy to capture some of our family stories and our favourite recipes.
In my recent blog post I wrote about my grandmother’s Hulda’s life as a way to inspire those of us who live in more modern times but in the last 6 months as there is such political unrest in the States since the recent election of their new president and also power struggles throughout the world, I thought it is very timely that two of my favourite people in the world (Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Deepak Chopra) are providing a free meditation series called, “Hope in Uncertain Times.”
I laughed out loud when I saw the title of their new meditation challenge for it is aptly named and something I can totally relate to.
This is the invitation I received from the Chopra Centre in my email, since I have done other meditations challenges in the past.
Uncertainty can be scary, and with fear comes defensiveness, judgment, and “us vs. them” thinking. Fear tempts us to give up our power to others who only appear strong, whether that’s your boss, your partner or other leaders. But true strength lies within.
Starting April 10, you’ll learn to take back your power and discover the inner resources to find love, peace, and connection in even the most difficult situations with Hope in Uncertain Times.
If you have not participated in one of these events, (it starts on April 10, 2017) I encourage you to pencil this date on your calendar and register as it could change your life. At the very least it will help you align yourself with your true essence and help you create the life that you want. When I have invited a few of my friends in the past, some have said, oh, I don’t have even 15 minutes in my day to do something like meditate but that seems so backwards to me.
If we want to be more productive in our lives, we don’t just work until we drop. No we have to eat properly, to rest appropriately, which will give us the energy we need to do our jobs. Well, meditation is really the same, although it’s our soul’s alignment and when we are in harmony with our inner power then we can do ANYTHING….and you know in my small way, that is what Hope’s Homestead is really about. Yes, I want to inspire others to live a more sustainable life, to realize that living more simply is really living more fully, but more than anything I want that to come from a place of spirit.
This is the true homestead.
My hope is that it will touch millions and millions of people. If we are all hummming, or rather, ommmming, with a single thread of Hope as we move more deeply into the year 2017, imagine what we can accomplish. Fear will be banished and love replaced and when we live in a state of love, that is where miracles happen.
So please join me now in registering for this series. It’s absolutely free, no strings attached and I believe it’s a Win/Win for everyone who takes just 15 minutes out of their day to connect.
1-1/4 cups sugar 1-1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar 1-1/2 cups margarine or butter, softened 2 tsp vanilla (I play around with this…1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp almond extract or coconut extract) 3 eggs 4-1/4 cups of all purpose flour (I play with this too, sometimes add some oatmeal, ground flax seed) 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups of chocolate chips 1 cup of nuts or coconut, or dried cranberries…this is the fun part of the recipe and makes it different each time you make it. Also, the 2 cups of chocolate chips can be played with using white and dark chocolate Directions Heat oven to 375 F degrees. In a large bowl beat the margarine or butter until creamy and then slowly add the sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and eggs, blend well. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, again, mixing until well combined.
The final step is adding the chocolate chips and the 1 cup of nuts or whatever you have decided to include. Mix all until well combined. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 F for 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. This makes a large batch of cookies. I often make a few dozen big and then a few dozen small for our little people but I probably get 5 to 6 dozen depending on the size of cookie I make Note: When the dough can also be frozen if you just want to make a dozen at a time…that way you will always have some freshly baked cookies on hand but in my house….yeah, the whole batch go in about 2 days!!! ….and my kids are just hoping and trusting that our cookie jar will ALWAYS be full. A final tip from my kitchen, I don’t know about your part of the world but nuts are extremely expensive in mine, so I always keep a basket of dried nuts in their shells for the kids to crack and for me to use when baking. Yes, it takes a bit of effort to crack a cup of nuts but somehow it feels so much more satisfying and you know it’s also meditative cracking nut after nut and watching a mound of nuts form in your measuring jar. Also, this is a good way to have a combination of nuts in your cookies….I’m sorry if you are allergic to nuts like my niece T is….I’m sure you can find some other yummy addition it that is your situation.
When I put these cookies on my mom’s old Forget Me Not China, it feels like we are having tea together again like our old days in Creston, B.C. (Her friends gave her this china when she left Creston btw)
Well that wraps another blog post. I’m so glad you came to visit and I hope you will be joining me on April 10th meditating on the thoughts of Hope In Uncertain Times
If you are unsure, join me in one of Deepak and Oprah’s past meditations from their “Perfect Health,” 21 day series….”Meditate it Forward”
Pass it on…….
Thank you as always, for coming to visit. Wishing you MUCH love, lots of peace…and Hope always!
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
My dear blogging friends and family, are you getting tired of winter yet?
I sure am!
To me this time of year always feels like my 8th month of pregnancy, when I just wanted to meet my baby and have my body back. Although a part of me wanted to enjoy the last days of my precious pregnancy, I was getting tired of getting up several times a night to use the bathroom and of course, overall I felt uncomfortable.
People don’t like being in a state of uncomfortable.
Just like pregnancy, winter is starting to feel too long. I’m tired of bundling myself and our little people up every time we go outside and dealing with slush and mud is getting unbearable.
Yuck!
I just want winter to be over and to get on with life; start my garden, hang out with our chickens, plant some flowers, grow some food and feel the warmth of the sun on my face. But these transition times are really important in our lives and I GUESS that is why I am thankful that I live in a part of the world where there are distinct seasons.
Four seasons in a year, teach us a lot. Each season is an opportunity to look at our life and how we are walking our path. How we feel about life when it’s uncomfortable.
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” ~Albert Camus~
It’s in those uncomfortable moments and in between season, when we come into our own, build the energy we need so that when the next season starts or stage of our life begins, we are transformed and ready to fly.
While I’m waiting for the last of the snow to melt, I remind myself that, “this too shall pass,” and I start moving energy because…..
This is the season for space clearing!
If you have wondered why I haven’t posted much lately, it’s because I have been upending drawers and emptying closets to rid myself of what is no longer useful or appreciated in our home. After I have cleared out a room of clutter and cleaned it really well, my body literally vibrates with a higher energy.
And that propels me forward to the next space.
And you know, it’s in that place, when we are humming with joy that we are able to create ANYTHING we desire. I think that when Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is within you,” he was referring to our potential to be ultimate creators. We just need to be believe the power to do so is inside of ourselves.
And so with that I wanted to share a story I wrote about my own experience a few years ago. No matter what you are desiring to create in your life, a new job, tickets to travel, a love partner, or a baby, like I was dreaming of a few years ago, it can be yours. I hope you find the following story inspiring.
And join me in moving the clutter, clearing your space and creating the life you always dreamed of.
Here’s my story…..
Stepping on My Own Feet
Each spring I do the same dance, although the tune is always different. This year, as I sweep through the house, going room by room, clearing out the insidious accumulation of stuff which stealthy, creeps into our home, I’m singing the tune, “less stuff, more life.”
This is a dance I know well and a song I have sung before. As a daughter of a depression era mother, I was raised, suffocated by stuff. Oh, sure it was organized chaos, but each drawer and closet was brimming full with things we may need someday. I wasn’t choked so much by our possessions but by the fear that someday,
THERE MAY BE A LACK.
As an adult, I threw down the gauntlet in the face of such fear and challenged life, dancing surefooted and believing whatever I desired would appear. Somewhere along life’s path, perhaps when my husband and I were trying to have our last child, I faltered. It was also during this time, that I allowed material possessions to move surreptitiously into our home.
It was an easy thing with a household full of children. First there were the discarded baby items, and then once school started, our children arrived home, proudly carrying precious pieces of art stuffed in their backpacks. Rock collections were discovered in jean pockets and buckets of stinky shells, and drift wood returned home with us after our summer holidays at the sea.
Oh and one can’t forget the countless boxes of pricey Gap and Gymboree clothing our children had grown out of, or the mountains of toys, too numerous for our little ones to play with each day. Over the years, everything was relegated to our Hobbit’s hallow crawl space or spread innocently, stuffed into closets and drawers.
One day, while surfing the web for fertility inspiration, I stumbled across an article on Feng Shui. Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art that teaches how to balance energies in any given space to increase good fortune and improve the flow of desired manifestation. Did I ever need to read this! Somewhere along my path I had become my mother’s daughter. I was drowning in a sea of household crap and it felt like I was moving through mud to reach my dreams.
Suddenly, my latest obsession shifted from trying to conceive, to studying the art of Feng shui. The first step was clearing clutter. Starting with our bottom heavy crawl space and moving upward, each day I chose a new room to methodically clear and clean.
That spring, 9 years ago we had the mother of all garage sales and who knew it would feel so good to let others happily take what was clogging up my life. After that, I systematically went room by room, balancing the elements of wood, fire, water and metal.
Finally, one blue skyed Saturday afternoon my husband took the kids to the park and I did a space clearing ceremony. I know it sounds new agey and thinking back I’m glad no one came to the door that day as I was dressed all in white and wearing flowers in my hair. What would they have thought! With a Balinese bell in one hand and a stick of smoldering sage and a large feather in the other hand, I swayed around our house in a circular fashion, while softly chanting, “May our home be filled with peace, love, joy and abundant blessings flow with ease.”
When the kids came home with flushed cheeks from playing at the park they asked, “what smells so funny?” As I write this, don’t think the irony is lost on me but since this is the pivotal part of my story, I must continue.
I didn’t wait long to share my latest foray into moving energy with my Tradition Chinese Doctor. Dr. B had been treating me weekly with acupuncture sessions in the pursuit of building my chi energy and boosting my fertility. At the end of our session, Dr. B. looked intently at me with her calm, deep brown eyes and gently said, “Lee, you have to let go.” As tears filled my eyes, the spoken truth of her words hit my gut with a thud and reverberated around my brain until it felt swollen with emotional punches. I wanted to yell, ”not yet,” but I knew, if I didn’t surrender the dream of another baby that I had been holding tightly since my last miscarriage two years earlier, I would drown in dark quick sand, taking my family with me.
When I got home, I went to sit on our front step in one of the brown wicker chairs. Spring was turning to summer. An earthly, scent of freshly mown grass was in the air and my newly planted flower pots at the front of our house were starting to bloom in brilliant pinks, deep purples and bright yellows. We would be eating luscious sweet strawberries from the garden soon and best of all, my delightful children would be all mine for 2 glorious months. With a sigh, I stood and reached up, allowing my hands to flow through the wind chimes at our front door. A heavenly sound of tinkling angel laughter filled the air.
Today, I’m in the midst of unearthing our kitchen desk drawer and I’m thinking about that time in my life when I got off track and was focusing on the lack in my life and not the abundance. I’m always surrounded by enough. In fact, right now I’m sitting on our wood floor covered by pens, papers, orphaned keys and multiple staplers. Our vacu-flo hose is lying nearby, like a snake, ready to suck up the dust and debris lying heavily at the bottom of the drawer.
This is a dance I do each spring but this year the tune is different. This year I move to the rhythm of MLS listings. I’m looking for acreage in the county. A place our family can grow more vegetables, build our chicken flock, maybe even get a rooster and certainly a big dog. I’m dreaming of my white farmhouse kitchen with a big butcher block island when the garage door suddenly opens and my blonde, curly haired, 7 year old son William pops his head in the door and pleads, “MOOOOM, are you coming out to play?”
I look at the stuff strewn around me and know it’s not going anywhere. Hey, and maybe Will and his 5 year old twin sisters will help me organize the drawer when we come in. For some reason, my younger kids love to help me de-clutter.
The End
Although it’s not the end…after I got off my own feet, look what manifested in my life….
When I got off my own feet, these beautiful babies danced into my life
Victoria Hope on the left and Kathryn Mira is on the right..early days while still in the hospital
Our little girls LOVE to read, Kathryn is on the left, Victoria is on the right
Here is Princess Kate
Our beautiful Victoria (Tori)
It was a long first year with twins but it’s all smiles in the end
Out to explore and have an adventure…isn’t that what life is all about?
From left to right, Victoria, William and Kathryn
There was a time when having these last three was a dream outside my reach…the power is within each of us to create the life of our dreams.
That’s a story I wrote recently for my writing group. The theme was a time in our life when we were stuck. Now looking back, I was never stuck. Only my perception was stuck. I was abundantly wealthy with children at the time and our next children, although waiting patiently on the other side, were within my reach all along. So ironic. All I had to do was let go, trust, breathe, and be JOY filled.
This reminds me of Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ, when she clicked the heels of her ruby red slippers and said, “there’s no place like home.” We have the ability to create whatever we want and we are ALWAYS, always home!
But when you want something so bad, it’s just not a human experience to relax, to trust, to enjoy. We click our ruby red slippers so hard that the glitter wears off. Oh for most of us, we need to push and worry, and live in a state of angst and unrest, (speaking personally here and in general) until we give up saying, “it probably wasn’t meant to be anyway! And the secret all along is to put our dreams down and let the Universe bring them to us. You may be surprised to see how fast they show up when you are vibrating in a state of appreciation and joy. AND TRUST…that’s the biggie.
Years ago, I thought I had started my blog to stay in touch with our daughter who had moved to London for 2 years. Now she is back in Canada, but still away and now teaching in Victoria but lately I have been thinking, yes, I like her to hear what’s going on in my head and at home but ya know, it’s more for me. If you are a writer, or an artist, or a cook, or a parent, you know this about creating something….the keys to living our best life are constantly flowing through our creative medium of choice and when we stop typing, or put down the paintbrush, this aha, realization floods through us.
As I write this post, yes I realize that I’m doing the whole dance again but this time looking for acreages on MLS, are dance steps I know well. All I have to do is get off my own feet and allow the music to take me…and the Universe will do all the rest.
Isn’t life endlessly fascinating and magical?
Hey…but space clearing is valuable; you get rid of things that you are no longer needing and sharing them with others, well that’s HUGE. They may even be thinking of the very thing that you are letting go this very moment! WOW! When you are conscious of the river flowing that is when you see the wonder of it all.
Now before I close, if you are new to this whole space clearing idea, I’m not going to just share my story and then not give you some road maps to follow…we love manuals and road maps in life don’t we? So here are the books that inspired me, but remember, just like what the good witch Glinda who told Dorothy, “you had the power all along my dear.”
The books that inspired me to move my energy are:
Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston, was the first book I read that inspired me to rid our house of useless crap….and create a space where harmony flowed.
And the other book by Karen Kingston that took everything to another level and gave me ideas for the space clearing ceremony where I was wearing white, and had flowers in my hair…it is;
So if you are stuck, or even thinking you are okay but wanting a bit more energy and want the things you desire to flow to you with ease, think about clearing the clutter and creating a beautiful space where you can manifest your best life.
The power is inside of you!
Well, I’m off to do some more de-cluttering and also have a cup of green tea with ginger. I find that when I space clear and things start to flow, it also inspires me to cleanse my body as well. I hope to write more about that in the next little while and also share some pics of some of my projects.
Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
” If we pollute the air, the water and the soil that keeps us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us.” David Suzuki
Yesterday was my birthday. The day was sunny and warm. Truly beautiful and so unlike most November 8th birthdays I have experienced in my 50 something years. The weather is changing. I sent my children off in their hoodies and sneakers again this morning, odd for this time of year. I’ve been sending little ones to school for 20 some years now and they are always in winter coats and boots by now. But not this year. Things are changing. The weather is changing.
Beautiful weather for my birthday yesterday but should I be concerned?
Usually, this time of year as I’m putting our Halloween pumpkins down at our compost bin, we may have experienced our first light snow days and all my leaves have been raked. But not this year, leaves are still intact on many of the trees in our yard.
A few of our chickens checking out their new compost friends.
And as I prepare our front door, with newly pruned fir and pine branches, our cat Ryuuki sits happily on the front mat. The weather is still nice enough for him to enjoy outside. He usually starts his winter hibernation at the end of October! But not this year.
The one wish I didn’t get for my birthday yesterday didn’t materialize. As my family and I gathered around the T.V. watching the election results from the States, I became more and more perplexed. I understand the majority of Americans want a drastic change with regards to their government, but really, how can they put their faith in a man who denounces global warming? Who has a senator in Florida, Marco Rubio, who believes the same, even while his State is being flooded with water?
I try to listen to their thoughts, their feelings their views.
I try to understand them better. I know they want good jobs and a decent standard of living but really, if there is no air to breathe, clean water to drink, or healthy food to eat, what kind of life will they have? What kind of life will any of us have? The earth and the animals in it, are telling us NOW, to make changes.
I’m a bit depressed this morning and yet, the day after my birthday, the day after the election, there are seeds of empowerment.
As long as HOPE (Helping Our Planet Earth) exist, miracles can happen.
Want to know what I wish for each year? I can’t tell you or it won’t come true but I think you can probably guess if you know have read any posts in my blog.
And the great part is I know, I’m not alone. WE can make a difference and a change in the world. Each of us has a choice to make. With awareness come wisdom. As Maya Angelou said, “When you know better, you do better.”
Oh, I know it isn’t easy, we live in such a fast paced world right now. We are all racing around, working hard to earn money for our families. We don’t have time to think about using our trips to town more wisely, or even if we really need to leave our homes at all. We don’t have time thinking about where our food comes from, or the packaging it arrives in. We don’t have time to be creative, making things from scratch or stretching what we do have, a bit farther. Heck, it even takes time to clean out our recycled cans, and bottles. Do we even have time to contemplate how we would like to walk the earth more gently. We are just too busy trying to live.
But most of us do know now that something has to shift. We can feel the frantic intensity around us. Sadly, many of us feel alone or that we are too small to make a difference.
What can we do?
Please join me in viewing the documentary called, “Before the Flood, ” with Leonardo DiCaprio. If you feel as I do, please share the link to this movie and watch it with your family and friends. We need to start talking about it, and taking steps to make changes.
We can do this.
WE are stronger together and I believe in miracles.
Here’s the link to the documentary, “Before the Flood,” if you unable to see it below.
This week has illuminated many insights for me, but the most important of all, and if you are following Deepak and Oprah’s meditation challenge on peace and connection you know where I’m coming from, it’s our relationship with our inner spirit. When we heal from within, then we are able to connect more fully with others. We also will be moving with the knowledge that money, power, notoriety, are not what this journey is about.
Can you guess what it’s REALLY about? What do you think? Well, my heart says it’s about love. When we come from a place of love, then healing happens. When we come from a place of love, we can do anything. ANYTHING! And so, healing the earth, making connections, yes they are all possible if we keep love in our heart.
So if you are like me, and feeling a bit overwhelmed, maybe even depressed about what has just occurred in the United States in the last 24 hours, go within, breathe, connect with that inner child, tell her or him that it’s going to be okay. The world will be okay. You are loved, you are worthy, and everything you are experiencing is perfect. Let your fears go and trust that the world is going to be okay too….with love, we can heal ourselves, each other AND the earth.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Today is not just the day my little candy hunters will head out in search of loot, but also my first day doing another 21 day meditation challenge with Dr. Deepak Chopra and Oprah. This one is called, “Creating Peace from the Inside Out~ the Power of Connection.”
Have you had a chance to do one of their meditation challenges yet?
Do you want to join me?
There is still time.
Click on the hyper-link above. It’s easy to register and it’s FREE! It’s also something we can do together and is just one more thing we can do to create a better world.
What I love about the idea of meditating on mass, creating peace from the inside out, is there was never a better time. With everything going on with the U.S. election, and the war on terrorism, nuclear testing in North Korea, etc, we need to tune inward to find peace, to shut out fear, which inevitably will touch each and everyone of us in the world, as we make connections with each other.
I need it right now too, as in my particular part of the world, with a house brimming of 7 children of various ages, developmental levels and personalities, if WE can live in peace, then I know there is hope for the world. It’s a constant, conscious choice and believe me, a daily challenge to be a mom and mentor of our group. I fail terribly some days…but
My greatest wish is that there be peace in my home.
That there be peace in the world.
For me to do this however, it takes inner reserves and abundant energy. I also need to shut out what society tells me daily with all sorts of messages that plunder my being. I need to shut out the fear that I’m not good enough, I’m not rich enough, I’m not brilliant enough, I’m not young enough.
I need to remember that just BEING, is enough.
Also,
at no other time in the world can fear spread as fast, and at no other time in the world, can light shine out from all of our souls. It’s our choice to choose love over power, courage over fear. Knowing we are enough just as we are. We are more than enough, we are perfect as we are, and so is everyone else.
What kind of world do you want to create?
Are you with me as we “om” daily for the next 21 days?
I’m so sorry I missed my last week’s meatless Monday. Oh, we enjoyed another great vegetarian meal. It was amazing and I wanted you all at my table. I made a middle Eastern dish; “Falafel wraps” with a Moroccan Chick pea salad and sweet potato fries.
You can bet I’m going to write a blog post about it but it will have to be for next week. Stay tuned. I have to tell you why I missed writing last week. I was having a love affair.
Ha! Well, it was more like a love/hate relationship.
With my sewing machine!
As I worked my way through the Pokemon Pikachu costume pattern, I kept thinking how I was making memories for my little boy William. Last year, he was a slurpee cup, which was a no sew costume, so this year I felt like I owed him a REALLY great costume. How many more years will he be 7 and want to dress up as a big yellow character?
Each night, once the kids were tucked away, lunches were made, school clothes were ironed, and yes, I still iron clothes. Probably because I leave them in the dryer too long and they are beyond wrinkled when retrieved. My sister B, knows all about my laundry woes…waving to you B. Thanks for all your help folding clothes over the years! Anyway, sorry I got sidetracked, after everything was ready for another busy day, I would bring out my sewing machine and with the T.V. on in the background, work my way through deciphering the pattern instructions. By the way, it was an EASY pattern, but for me it took ALL week.
Hence missing last week’s meatless Monday blog post. But hey…here is the completed costume.
At last!
And here it is on Will….at the Halloween party he attended on Saturday afternoon. He loved being Pikachu and if you don’t know about Pokemon, Pikachu is like a fluffy, Thor-like character…sending lightening and thunder to bad guys.
Doesn’t he look happy in his Pikachu costume? So it was ALL worth it.
So it’s Halloween tonight and if you know me at all, I really love the whole dressing up part of the occasion. The idea of being something or someone you admire, or desire to become, appeals to my creative soul. Often little ones can feel small and insignificant in our world, (big ones too) so this gives them one day of the year, they can be something that makes them feel brilliant and brave. We all need that experience in life.
It’s a time when they head out after dark, dressed in their finery, daring to be the person they most desire in the world. Plus the beauty gifts and prizes of treats doesn’t hurt either!
The part I don’t like about Halloween, and I think I blogged about it last year, especially since I’m a mom, is the sugar part. I spoke with several moms at our daughter’s kindergarten Halloween party this morning and they were all bemoaning the sugar aspect of the day. I was sharing a few tips I have learned over the years to minimize the negative experience. Personally, I think kids should experience the hunt….and maybe also what it feels like to have a sugar high…’cause it’s often a sugar low.
I mean really, it’s their one and only day of the year to head out and fill a bag full of treats they often are not allowed to eat (in most households now we know the downside of sugar) We have chosen to embrace the evening and use it as another teaching moment.
Of course in the days leading up to Halloween we do talk about the tradition and also about the treat aspect of the occasion. How we are not thrilled with how sugar negatively affects our health and well being. Also, it gives children the opportunity to make healthy decisions and choices.
But in the end, we parents do have the control.
I have heard some people choose to exchange the bag of candy for a longed for toy, or to allow children to eat all they want in the first night and then the treat bag goes away.
What we have done in our family over the years, is when our children come home from trick or treating, we have them spread all their loot on the floor and we check it over. Then we encourage our children to categorize and count their treats, if they choose. Kid’s naturally do this in most cases. You know, put all the chocolate bars together, bags of chips etc. This is great for using their math skills and at this point, they often negotiate a trade with their sibling.
Then we tell them to pick about three items, which they can enjoy while watching the fireworks put on by our local Fire hall. The fire fighters were down at the public lake dock early this morning, setting up all the various fireworks and when 8 o’clock strikes you can hear your first boom of the evening, as the light show begins in our part of the world. We are fortunate to have a wonderful view since our house is right above the lake and situated directly in front of where the fireworks explode.
The kids eat their treats and enjoy this display.
After that, we put the kid’s treats into the kitchen cupboard and each night after dinner, they are able to select something from their treat bag. This feels good to me, since I remember going trick and treating and recall how precious that candy was to me, but now from a moms perspective, I also know right after eating said candy, our little ones will be off for their evening bath and have their teeth brushed.
Knowing they go out before Trick or Treating with a healthy dinner, makes me feel great too with regards to the upcoming sugar dump. Tonight is no exception and it’s kind of cool that it’s Meatless Monday.
Tonight we are making a Vegetable Lentil Gardener Pie. It’s like a Sheperd’s Pie..without the meat..YUM!
I found it in a wonderful cookbook I borrowed from the library. It’s called, “The Vegetarian Collection,” written by Alison Kent and the Canadian Living Test Kitchen.
Love, love, LOVE, this cook book and I’m definitely going to find a copy to purchase.
I think this may be a Halloween traditional dinner since it’s something I can make ahead of time and just pop in the oven late in the afternoon so we can have an early dinner and get the kids into their costumes. It gets dark really early here, like at 5:00 o’clock this time of year, so they are out in their costumes walking up steps and knocking on doors REALLY early.
Are you ready for a dinner that is delicious and nutritious?
Okay,
Here it is:
Vegetable Lentil Gardener’s Pie
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion diced
1 carrot diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 and 1/2 cups dried lentils, rinsed and drained
1 pkg (375 g) precooked soy protein mixture (I used Yves Veggie Ground Round)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1 can of crushed tomatoes (I used a bag of frozen, already seasoned tomatoes)
2/3 cup of vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry white wine or vegetable broth
2 zucchini, diced
2 lbs of russet potatoes…about 4 large ones
2 lbs sweet potatoes…about 4
1/3 cup milk (almond, rice, or cow)
3 tbsp butter
11/2 cups of grated old cheddar cheese
2 green onions sliced thinly
A few of the ingredients gathered together.
Directions
In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat; fry diced onion, celery, carrot and garlic until softened, 6 minutes. Stir in lentils, soy protein, cumin, oregano and half each of the salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes
Stir in tomatoes, broth and wine, bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add zucchini, cook, covered and stirring often, until thickened and lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and cut russet and sweet potatoes in 2 inch chunks. In large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook potatoes, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and return to dry saucepan of boiling salted water, cook potatoes, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and return to dry saucepan; mash together with milk, butter and remaining salt and pepper. Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese.
Scrape lentil mixture into 13×9 baking dish; spread mashed potatoes over top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and green onions. Bake in 375 degree oven until bubbly, about 30 minutes
I took a really quick picture of this plate for the purpose of my blog. Frankly, I’m always so shocked that I have time to take ANY pictures because when my family knows dinner is about to be served it’s chaos in my kitchen. My oldest daughter said, “mom, do we really need a napkin?….and I assured her that in blog post world, yes I needed a napkin, when in real world, our kids often use their sleeves or the cushions on my window seat. No, I’m just kidding, but often we don’t use a napkin as that’s just creates more laundry. ha!
But for you, I have placed a napkin on the place mat.
Someday I will have to VLOG about a typical dinner being served at my house. “Crazy” could be one adjective or maybe more like an adverb. I’m hoping always for calm but it’s often a bit chaotic as everyone scrambles to dish up their dinner.
I did plate this quickly but afterwards, added a country bun to this dish, which was PERFECT and the little kids loved this addition to the Gardener’s Pie.
So there, another Meatless Monday meal for my repertoire and maybe one you too. This made a nice big meal so if you have a smaller family that I do, it’s great for 2 nights and what mom doesn’t love THAT! Or better yet, invite another family over and break some bread together.
So dear ones, my best wishes for a Happy Halloween. I hope the light of the season shines brightly, fear is shut out and love remains glowing in your home. That’s really what this season is all about don’t you think?
I hope you join me in meditating over the next 21 days. Perhaps it will help us remove the mask many of us wear much of the year and become more in tuned with our authentic selves.
All shall be well in our world.
Peace out!
Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessings from Hope
P.S. I’m not paid or receive anything for endorsing the 21 day challenge. Like everything on my blog, it’s done with the intention to inspire others to move towards the light.
~ Namaste~
Yesterday was “International Peace Day.” Ever since I was a little girl, peace has always been important to me. Maybe, being a young child in the 60’s, when passionate peace marches were happening, or opening my school lunch box everyday with a psychedelic peace sign stamped on the lid, all had the effect of etching the importance of peace into my being.
Or maybe the knowledge that peace is a truth that just resonates with my soul. Now that I’m older, I understand how truly important peace is in the world. It’s so simple and yet so hard for us to achieve. Why do we humans take the harder path in life? Because we want to be right and we want to win. But really, if the world is in a state of peace, then we all WIN. What can be better than that?
It starts with basics like, respect, kindness, compassion, non-judgement.
Here are the highlights and the 6 things you can do to live more peacefully;
1. Let go of Ego and just be yourself.
2. Learn From the Masters
3. Bring Awareness to your Life
4. Realize we all Experience Conditioning of Some Kind
5. Understand you Create your Own Experience
6. How do you live your life, through fear or love?
Often when my young children aren’t sharing, or they are bickering, I will ask them to stop and face each other, asking themselves if the thing they are wanting so badly, or the point they are wanting to make, is more important than the love and relationship they are wanting to experience and create with each other.
Inevitably, they drop the treasured toy, or stop shouting and simply reach for each other, sometimes telling each other they love each other. You can feel the energy shift and the anger dissipate if you are an observer. It’s quite remarkable. Teaching our children when they are young, is a good start towards peace.
Being aware and asking, “what is my intention?” is a HUGE step towards peace.
A little over a year ago, a little 3 year old Syrian boy, Alan Kurdi lay drowned on a beach. He, his mother and older brother died trying to find a more peaceful place to live in the world. Yesterday, I was thinking of him. I was thinking about all the Canadians and others in the world, who want to close off the borders, for fear of terrorism entering their country. And almost like synchronicity, last night before I went to bed I watched a bit of the CBS 11 o’clock news. They did a story on another Syrian refuge family, who has recently come to Canada, and were hitting the ground running after arriving in the country last year. They are growing a successful business making what they know best, chocolate, (who doesn’t LOVE CHOCOLATE!!!) and they are already starting to give back to the country who welcomed them.
This makes me cry with happiness but also with dismay. How many of us are already living in a beautiful part of the world, in a peaceful country, and we take it for granted. We take clean water, food and shelter, ALL for granted. For most of us, there are opportunities for us to become successful and give back to our communities. There are opportunities for us to extend our hand and say, “Welcome, come in peace.” This family inspired me today, and has me thinking about “what I can do in my community RIGHT now?” to make the world a more peaceful place.
Eat chocolate of COURSE!!! but…..
maybe I can do little things, like writing this blog post and the few people who read it, may be inspired, sending ripples of peace out into their part of the world. I can assess some of my other strengths; I love to read and I love children. Maybe I can go in and be a parent helper in my younger children’s classrooms, maybe reading with children, or at least helping out the teacher so she can offer the best education possible for all of our children.
I do believe education is one of the foremost steps we can take to live peacefully.
Hey and don’t you think if someone handed you a piece of chocolate, AND a book, you would feel happier and more peaceful? Works for me.
AnYway, this was just a quick blog post as I wanted to give you the link to the news report about the Hadhad family in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. (click on the hyper-link if you can’t see it below)
Make a difference….be the best you…
