Reclaiming

Wishcasting Wednesday, & Jamie's prompt is "What do you wish to Reclaim?"

I'm working on reclaiming my home!!

At almost 8 months old, Baby Z is getting more mobile, so it's time for baby-proofing - & beyond that, time to go through those piles that seem to accumulate & build up, over time! I spent Monday working on getting the dining 'nook' in order, & the center of the kitchen floor CLEAR for him to play in! And I took 4 bags to Goodwill, only brought one home! (some new clothes, so purging more of my closet as well)

Success! Today I want to clean out the fridge (he's at the other grandma's), & begin on my little pantry - to the Rt of the colourful pile (boxes I hadn't gotten to, draped to keep Mr Curious at bay ... I had it set up as a computer room, but have been using the laptop for more than a year now .... so it's time to get the equipment & desk out, & some shelves up.

As I reclaim my home, I will free up time & energy ...
I love Karen Kingston's book "Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui" Karen suggests asking yourself:
1) Does (an object) lift my energy when I look at or think about it?
2) Do I absolutely LOVE it?
3) Is it generally useful?

As I reclaim my space, I make room for creativity, guests, that lovely grandson ....

So off to the kitchen, to continue pulling stuff out of that pantry, clearing the counters, .....

What do YOU wish to reclaim?

Winter Chili

I watch my 7 month old grandson 4 mornings a week, & cook lunch for my daughter & myself - & for her hubby, if we're at their house. It's been fun being creative with recipes & thinking up 'what to have!'

My friend Sheila King has produced a very sweet cookbook, "Sheila's Kitchen" & the format is 8 1/2 x 11", spiral bound & printed on one side - so there's plenty of room to jot down some of my new GF recipes! If you think ahead, you can bring the beans to a boil & soak overnight! I just decided to do chili in the morning, so used OG canned beans (all items are OG when possible!)

My nursing grandson had a diaper rash which we traced to tomatoes, so I left those out of the chili - you could certainly add canned tomatoes or paste, or my favorite, dried tomatoes! I dry them in a food dehydrator, & chop some & cover with olive oil, to toss into things toward the end of cooking.

This is a vegan recipe, you could use any meat you had on hand!

Here's a Chili for Fall or Winter days

2 Tbsp coconut or olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

3-5 cloves of garlic, chopped

* saute onions & garlic in oil

1 Can OG black beans

1 Can OG pinto beans

1/2 C OG lentils (uncooked)

1/4 C cacao nibs

2 quarts soup stock (I simmer veggie trimmings in water while I'm chopping other ingredients)

** add beans, hot stock to onion/garlic & add spices:

1 T paprica

3 T chili powder

1 T gharam masala or pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp fresh oregano

2 tsp fresh savory

1 Bay leaf

2 Tbsp kombu or other kelp

** chop veggies & add: I used

1 medium golden or red beet,

1 medium carrot,

1/2 a black radish or turnip, 2 handfuls lovage (could be several celery stalks)

** bring to a boil, then turn heat to low & simmer ~ 3 hours.

Serve with cornbread or quinoa/amaranth & a big green salad

Winter Wishcasting

Jamie asks 'what's your WINTER wish?'

Hmmm - on Solstice, (9:30 PM Wed the 21st, Pacific time) my wish is appreciation for the dark
"The dark half of the year
Suits me just fine
An incubation,
A percolation.
Winter time. The Dream Time.
Worms & calligraphy.
A quiet turning under,
the underbelly
A rich velvet basket,
Stars & frogs tucked around
the edges.
The Dark, my love, is a
Sweet loamy
Pocket for
Change-lings" Shae Savoy - We'moon 2011 calendar

It seems like we should be in ~ mid - November, & here we are at Winter Solstice!!

So my Mid-Winter's wish is for some slowing down, taking a breath, BEING here, at the longest night, the shortest day; appreciating as the wheel turns yet again toward spring & light return!

O Sada - it is good!

What is YOUR winter's wish??

WW - What's your DEEPEST Wish?

Jamie's prompt this week - What is your deepest wish?
To be my authentic Self, & by my presence to bring inspiration, peace, and calm.

When I lived at the coast, about 15 years ago, one friend/student asked about studying to become a Reiki Master with me, as she wished personal MASTERY, & felt Reiki Mastery would 'fit' that for her, if I felt comfortable with that as her 'burning desire.' She had lived for a time down the hill from Findhorn Garden, & was already a very authentic, focused person. I love our work together, as I learned a lot from HER!

My time at Breitenbush also facilitated being 'real,' awareness of the phases of the moon, of the change of seasons, of the ebb & flow of guests & focus of workshops. It was easy to teach Tai Chi & Reiki, easy to gather with others in celebration & joy, sadness & quiet ...

As we approach Winter Solstice, a time of going within & quieting down, we are also caught up in the busi-ness of Christmas parties, celebrations, performances ... and time with family & friends ... I wish to be true to myself & shine ...

What Deep Wishes & fine dreams call you?

Give-Away

Mmm - you know how much I LOVE coconut!!
Yesterday I made Hungarian Mushroom Soup using this recipe - but of course 'tweeking' it - coconut milk & oil, sorghum flour in the roue, savory rather than dill, nice fresh OG parsley came from my CSA share, & I had some left over roast chicken, so added that to the mushrooms! & 'of course' some garlic!

I first had Hung. Mush. Soup at Old Wives Tales in PDX, & love it! One (or more) of our Breitenbush Chefs had cooked there, & brought the recipe, or found it in the Moosewood Cookbook - & they offer a vegan version as well as the one with dairy.

Over on Bloggity Blog, there's a give-away for a tub of Tropical Traditions shredded coconut!! Wow - wouldn't that be awesome!! I'd use it up fast, too :) I have tried making coconut milk using bulk shredded coconut, & it wasn't great - so I'd like to try TT & see if it's as good as promised!

Head on over to enter the give away!!

Celebrate!!

Jamie's prompt for this weeks Wishcasting - what do you wish to Celebrate?

I've been busy this last week, participating as one of an ASL team 'signing' the Community Choir Christmas Cantata, 'Festival of Light.' Several of the songs include the sign for 'celebrate' & 'rejoice' - it is a jubilant, light filled offering! My 'goddess' niggles don't even get tripped, which surprises me at times. I've been told by SEVERAL folks that they enjoy my signing more than the students (who are Seniors in an ASL program, while I had one term of ASL 31 years ago!! But a dance background, so can 'do' choreography) .... 'your aura shows through when you sign'

I celebrate having eyes to see & ears to hear, to enjoy signing, but not 'need' it!

I celebrate this journey to the darkest night, & Light's return.

I celebrate being a grammie to a LOVELY little guy, & his big sisters & cousins, & the blessings of spending so much time with my grandson Zander (almost 7 months old) ...

I celebrate having 'food, shelter, & warmth' during this season of cold. Last night, a neighbor's home burned (chimney fire) THEY are all safe - but what a sad time to be faced with decisions about the home, about where to be ... (blessings on them, may they also be assured of food, shelter, warmth)

I celebrate friendships - both folks I know 'in the flesh,' & those of you I know through the airwaves! May we all be blessed this season of Light's Return!

& HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMIE!!

What do you celebrate?

WW - What do you wish to Remember?

Jamie's prompt on Wishcasting Wed is "what do you wish to Remember?"

I wish to remember how grateful I am for living on this beautiful, Blue Green Planet, what a blessing it is to be incarnate at this time!!

& for being born & living HERE, in the Pacific Northwest - where we have abundant water, trees, gardens, lovely OG veggies grown 'for us' by our CSA farmers, Katie & Casey For Grandchildren (5 - I am so blessed!), for music, dance, joy, vitality, health, and friends.

I wish to remember how blessed I was to be a wanted & cherished child, raised by parents who enjoyed being parents, enjoyed having ME (as ornery as I could be) & lived simply & honestly. Today would be their 62nd anniversary! (mama died ~ 7 years ago, & daddy 19)

& my daughter just shared a favorite, favorite memory: one sunny afternoon when she was ~ 9, we spent most of the day reading aloud, under the clothesline in our side yard - Anne McCaffery's 'Ship Who Sang' while her bro & papa were off collecting beetles with our Entomologist friend Jim .... 'one more chapter, please??' ...

This is Anne McCaffery's own memory of her son reading from that book for a camera crew: "I think the best story I ever wrote was 'The Ship Who Sang'. It still causes people to cry, including me. When Todd and I were reading it at Brighton, they had a BBC crew filming it. So there were these BBC cameramen hunkered down filming us, and comes the end of the story (which Todd always reads, because I can't go through it without weeping), I saw that these cameramen had tears rolling down their faces."
Anne McCaffery died yesterday, at 85 - may she fly with her dragons (Pern) & sing with the stars with Helva!!

I am blessed!!

What do you wish to remember?

Jamie Ridler Studios posts a weekly Wednesday Wishcasting prompt.

As Jamie says, "Wishcasting Wednesday is a safe haven for wishes, a fertile field in which to plant wish seeds and have them witnessed and tended lovingly. It’s a place where magic begins...Make a wish: Dare to dream."

"What would happen if every week you made a wish?

What magic might start to stir?"