“Many people nowadays live in a series of interiors…disconnected from each other. On foot everything stays connected, for while walking one occupies the spaces between those interiors in the same way one occupies those interiors. One lives in the whole world rather than in interiors built up against it.” ~ Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking […]
The Power of Story
“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” ~ Philip Pullman The past few days have been rough for me. It’s a lyme thing. Partly because of the pathogens that have invaded and taken up residence in my body and partly because of the ongoing treatment to evict […]
Coffee with a (feathered) Friend
“Without birds, trees would be very lonely and men too!” ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan As I sipped a coffee yesterday, killing time, with worries on my mind, a little Mickey Bird (Noisy Miner) came to visit me. The Universe must have known I needed some company. The friendly bird stayed with me, singing cheery songs and […]
Delicious Fig, Feta and Walnut Salad Recipe
“No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.” ~ Epictetus My farmer friends, Rob and Robby, have a wonderful commercial stone fruit […]
The Rock, the River and the Mountain
“…your memory is a warm stone hidden in my hand I’m always turning over…” ~ John Geddes, A Familiar Rain “I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, but […]
The Blessing of Sleep
“Even a soul submerged in sleep is hard at work and helps make something of the world.” ~ Heraclitus, Fragments No proper blog today. Something miraculous happened last night. My friend Sally came over yesterday afternoon and brought me a rock she’d found for me in Nepal. As she left a gentle rain began to fall, […]
Saying No to Conditional Love
“You can be the most beautiful person in the world and everybody sees light and rainbows when they look at you, but if you yourself don’t know it, all of that doesn’t even matter. Every second that you spend on doubting your worth, every moment that you use to criticize yourself; is a second of […]
Tasty Sausage Casserole Recipe
“I think preparing food and feeding people brings nourishment not only to our bodies but to our spirits. Feeding people is a way of loving them, in the same way that feeding ourselves is a way of honoring our own createdness and fragility.” ~ Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way I […]
Why We Need YOUR Voice
“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.” ~ Neil Gaiman Thanks to you, and to some wise and loving friends, I’ve been pushed to a major […]
Hooray for friends!
“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” ~ Elbert Hubbard Isn’t this the most colossal bucket of flowers for ten dollars? They are grown and sold by two elderly brothers who live up the road from us. You can read more about that here. I’ve had a lovely time […]
Red Dragon Juice Recipe
“But it is one thing to read about dragons and another to meet them.” ~ Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea A fresh juice is a splendid way to start the morning. This delicious recipe is full of good things to give a lift to your day, and it tastes creamy and earthy, with […]
A Very Sad Tale…
“Oh, pity the poor glutton Whose troubles all begin In struggling on and on to turn What’s out into what’s in.” ~ Walter de la Mare Harry and Bert invented a new game yesterday afternoon. It’s called ‘chase-the-guava’. There is so much fallen fruit beneath our heavily-bearing guava tree. Even when I pick a full […]
Quick Guava Tea Cake Recipe
“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” ~ Henry James Afternoon tea is a popular time in our household. In fact, it usually attracts visitors hopeful of a cuppa, a chat, and a small slice of something tasty. I love this tea cake […]
Wise Birds Come Visiting
“One day you live somewhere, you call dat country home. Smell like dis place. Earth. Sea. But make you happy again. We send all dem black fella birds remind you your promise. Remind you your story. Then you know it’s time. Time to be dat story. Live dat story in your heart. Live your true […]
Sleepy Sunday Morning Triumph
“If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.” ~ Masaru Emoto, The Secret Life of Water This beautiful water-lily grows in a cattle […]
Rebirth of a Tenacious Tree
“Often it is tenacity, not talent, that rules the day.” ~ Julia Cameron, Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance When we moved to this farm there was a hulking squat skeleton of a tree near the clothes line in the back yard. From its furthermost branch clung a few twisted and misshapen leaves. Piece by piece […]
Sunshine, Earth and Dancing Orbs
“You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. […]
Nana’s Apricot Chicken Recipe
“If nothing is going well, call your grandmother.” ~ Italian Proverb My beloved Nana was never a fancy cook. Her food was simple, tasty, quick to prepare and always economical. I have missed her so much since she passed in late 2012, but whenever I make one of her recipes I always feel that she is […]
Lessons on Waiting and Being Delayed
“How did it get so late so soon?” ~ Dr. Seuss “If we can just let go and trust that things will work out they way they’re supposed to, without trying to control the outcome, then we can begin to enjoy the moment more fully. The joy of the freedom it brings becomes more pleasurable than […]
Morning Rewards
“As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be?” ~ Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes It’s still early. But already I’ve meditated. I’ve taken my morning ‘before food’ drugs. I’ve fasted and I’ve given vial upon vial of my blood to be tested for positive signs of health progress. It’s time for […]
Magical Cupcake Oracle #2
“If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.” ~ George MacDonald “A hug is a great gift – one size fits all, and it’s easy to exchange.” ~ Author Unknown Will […]
Osso Buco Recipe with Beetroot and Rosemary
“The beet is what happens when the cherry finishes with the carrot. The beet is the ancient ancestor of the autumn moon, bearded, buried, all but fossilized; the dark green sails of the grounded moon-boat stitched with veins of primordial plasma; the kite string that once connected the moon to the Earth now a muddy […]
Girl, stop askin’ dem questions. Listen!
“Very few beings really seek knowledge in this world. Mortal or immortal, few really ask. On the contrary, they try to wring from the unknown the answers they have already shaped in their own minds — justifications, confirmations, forms of consolation without which they can’t go on. To really ask is to open the door […]
So Many Questions
“An infinite question is often destroyed by finite answers. To define everything is to annihilate much that gives us laughter and joy.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle I’ve been inundated with two main types of questions since my post yesterday about being woken by a voice with a message for me. These are YOUR questions, filling up my […]
The Voice
“Sometimes beautiful things come into our lives out of nowhere. We can’t always understand them, but we have to trust in them. I know you want to question everything, but sometimes it pays to just have a little faith.” ~ Lauren Kate, Torment Yesterday afternoon I lay down for a nap and fell into the deepest, dreamless […]
The ’10 Lovely Things!’ Challenge
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ~ Marcel Proust Yesterday morning my lovely husband set me a glorious distraction (for those of you who aren’t up to speed I am currently taking a savage amount of drugs to combat Lyme Disease […]
Lucky Dip #2
“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” ~ Bob Marley It’s one of those ‘not coping very well’ kind of days. I’ve been enduring nights of no sleep, constant pain, fevers, sweats and anxiety. But that’s okay. It’s all for a good cause. And I’m prepared for days like […]
Quick Apple and Blueberry Tart
“Cut my pie into four pieces, I don’t think I could eat eight.” ~ Yogi Berra This simple berry and apple tart is quick to make and tastes fruity and delicious. I use variations of this recipe all the time to whip up a speedy afternoon tea or dinner-time treat. Shop-bought pastry means all you need […]