I could not help but laugh out loud at this sign. I’m glad Indiana doesn’t have alligators out and about in the waterways.
The beach is a great place to spend a winter day. We actually spent several days at the beach during our Christmas vacation visiting my son and his family. The sea air relieved my irritated lungs, the sound of the waves relaxed my spirit, the feel of the waves and the sand connected me to the earth’s energy and the company of my family refreshed my joy for life!
Have you thought about your New Year Resolutions yet?
In just a few hours it will be 2012. On New Year’s Eve I always find myself wondering what the new year has in store? It is no figment of my imagination, that the older I get, the faster the years pass by. Last year at this time, I would have been surprised to know I would be finding new friends all around the world through conversations on this blog! Thank you to everyone who has stopped by or left a comment. I am thrilled you found me and I hope you share my blog with your friends. Fortunately the blog continues to gain followers and many share they find the site helpful. If there are topics you would like to see presented, please leave a comment and let me know. My intention is to offer useful information while I share my personal joy and passion for life. I look forward to the many possibilities and opportunities that the future may bring my way!
New Year resolutions always enter into conversations this time of year because it is a new beginning; a chance to redo, rethink, re-be who we are. Of better consequence would be to ask ourselves in December, how much success we had accomplishing the resolutions set at the beginning of the year. That question would help us learn how to set appropriate and reachable goals and understand how better to accomplish them. Goals need to be highly motivational, pertinent, realistic, and organized into sequential steps to ensure we accomplish the big goal.
Last year I wanted to begin an educational blog and open a shop on Etsy. I did get both of those goals accomplished but I realize I need to think bigger and move forward with my dream. I want to explore the possibility of beginning an agritourism vacation program on my farm aimed at providing opportunities for families to visit, explore, and learn about land stewardship, growing fruits and vegetable and preserving them to eat later, raising dairy goats, chickens, quail, and many other farm life activities my husband and I enter into every day. Small family farming is going the way of the dodo and hearth and home skills are being lost to the public at large, as those of us who practice them grow older or don’t share what we know with those that don’t. It’s a big dream, but a dream of value to those that yearn to better understand where their food comes from and how they can be a part of feeding and providing for themselves.
Many people will gather with family and friends tonight to welcome the New Year in style. Some will celebrate with champagne, finger goods, and gourmet desserts, others find hot wings and beer just the ticket. However you plan to spend the evening, savor each precious moment spent in good company! Be forgiving of yourself, Rejoice in the accomplishments of 2011 and Begin the journey of reaching your goals for 2012. Think positively, Think Big, and be courageous! The only thing holding you back is yourself so get ready and begin the adventure! Look for Simple Pleasure Treasures along the way and share your joy of life with as many people as you can.
I wish you all a Happy and Wonderful New Year!
Beautiful things are something to be treasured.
Today my daughter and I visited the Cincinnati Art Museum. There was a beautiful collection of turn-of-the century dresses and some jewelry. The dresses were fabulous! Silk, and bead-work galore made these dresses stunning, even 90 years later. While there we visited a display made by a young man who blew glass into teardrops, bottles, and something that looked like dancing triangles. It was lovely! We also got to see some lesser known works by Picaso that I found really interesting because they were realistic sketches for the most part. Bull fights and images of his muses throughout his life were predominant focuses. All in all, it felt good to meander around looking at beautiful things! Looking at artwork is like looking at a slice out of history. Images, sculptures, textiles, jewelry, pottery, in short, all art work, realize people, places, and things into a reality that takes us somewhere else in time, culture, or geography. The Cincinnati Museum of Art has something for everyone to enjoy! If ever you are in town, a visit to the museum might renew your curiosity, energize your creativity, and refresh your spirit.
Today's moment was amazing!
I have been struggling with a respiratory infection for a month now. I also have asthma and infections always trigger a flare-up. I have been on antibiotics, additional asthma meds, and stayed home a couple of days to rest. All to no avail. I was still running a low grade fever, struggling to get a breath and feeling exhausted in mind and body.
My pulminary specialist is a fantastic doctor! He knows me and he trusts that I know my body. I have been going to him for the last 20 years and generally I recover quickly once I am under his care. This time improvement seemed a distant wish. This was the fourth time I called him in the past month because I still felt horrible. During the office visit today he completed a traditional physical and drew some conclusions about the course of action. He also took a moment to check my energy levels and determined I was energy depleted. He feared my body did not have the strength to work with the medications to bring about recovery. He suggested an “energy healing.”
I am open to non-traditional medicine because I know the body is ultimately responsible for its own healing. I depend on the help traditional medicine provides my body to heal itself, but I am not blind to the possibility that alternative medicine has great value in assisting traditional medicine in the healing process. Let’s face it, non-traditional medicine has been around for thousands of years in non-western cultures and it brings about results.
I experienced an energy healing today. I can’t tell you exactly how long it lasted but I think about 30 minutes. We sat in comfy chairs across the room from one another and my doctor began to channel energy my way. There was no talking. I didn’t know what to expect but I began to feel something working inside my body; a sort of movement and gentle pressure here and there. I won’t take the time to explain the entire process but I can tell you that somewhere in the middle of the healing I felt peace and physical relaxation come over me to the point that I actually slumped. My breathing eased remarkably, my coughing subsided, my lung congestion eased and I came away feeling a tremendous improvement in my body’s ability to function.
The healing experience renewed my energy level and my spirit. I feel life-force again working to sustain me. I feel energy coming to my rescue and I am happy. This was a great day!
December 4th
Today I enjoyed relaxing with my family. My husband made breakfast and then we began decorating the house for Christmas.
It is always emotionally warming to walk through memories accumulated through a lifetime of gathering ornaments for the tree. When the children were younger, we visited Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati, OH each Christmas enjoying the richness of the botanical gardens. We frequently purchased ornaments as a reminder of the special day. We also made ornaments together as a family. And who can forget the adorable ornaments the children made at school each year. Many of these parent treasures, still reside in the Christmas box because I cannot bring myself to throw them away.
As I handle each ornament a special memory or feeling comes to mind reminding me how blessed I have been in my family. The ornaments are visual reminders of treasured times with my husband and children.
The decorating process also is a reminder that my family is growing and changing. I am aware the future is ripe with promise and possibilities to come. I happily acknowledge that additional stockings can now be added to our banister because our children are forming families of their own.
Today was a good day… full of emotional nourishment. I hope you too were able to find your simple pleasure treasure.
This farm provided the White House Christmas tree in 1968!
Today set a record in our family for getting the Christmas tree. We have never gotten the tree until 7-10 days before Christmas. This year circumstances encouraged us to make the journey earlier in the month. Our family tradition up until just a few years ago, was to search out a cedar tree; then each family member took a turn with the hand saw until the tree came down. Next came the long trek back home carrying the prize. It frequently took 2-3 hours of wandering around our property to find the perfect tree and make our way back on foot, tree in hand. It was a good tradition though and one we all cherish.
As my daughter remarked today, we have found a more civilized method of procuring the tree. There is a tree farm about 30 minutes from where we live that raises acres and acres of Christmas trees in various stages of development. They provide the saw, you walk around until you find your perfect tree, then you carry it to the end of the row where it is marked and hauled to the payment area. Each tree is shook by a vibrating mechanism to remove debri from the branches, then the tree is placed into a device that gently wraps it with twine to protect the boughs on the trip home. The whole process took about 30 minutes and we were on our way back home with the most beautiful tree I can remember us ever getting.
My son-in-law did the cutting today.
Once home the living room was made ready and the tree placed in the stand, and moved into place. The house smells of fresh pine, and the cats think the new toy we brought home to them is really great! The tree will look wonderful dressed in a garland made from popcorn and cranberries strung on a string. And when the tree comes down, the birds will feast on the garland.
My daughter and I are incredibly alike. Not quite sure how it happened, but she went away to college and came home her mother. We are so alike it is scary sometimes. For example, earlier this week we emailed each other about a great lentil stew we each had discovered, made, and enjoyed. Today we discovered we had both made the same exact recipe from the same recipe book, and very nearly on the same day. It’s great to have a cohort in a daughter. I love my three boys dearly, but they are each unique individuals and only share a few things in common with their Mom. With my daughter, we share so much in common that its like listening to myself sometimes. It’s a good thing I like who I am most of the time. It comes from a recipe book called “Extending the Table” and was compiled by Joetta Handrich Schlabach. The recipe is Indian in origin and serves 6.
Everyday Lentils and Rice
In a large saucepan or skillet, heat
2 Tblsp (30 mil) oil ( I use olive or canola)
Add and saute 2 minutes
1 large onion, chopped
2 green peppers, diced
2-inch stick cinnamon
4 whole clove
4 cardamon pods or 1/2 tsp ground cardamon
** I substitute 1 tsp of apple pie spice for the cinnamon and cloves. I add 1/4 tsp of tumeric, and 1/2 tsp cumin.
Add
1 cup uncooked rice (250 mls) I use basmati or brown rice. Soak brown rice for 20 minutes in water and drain prior to adding to the vegetables and lentils.
1/2 cup lentils (125 mls)
Stir fry all ingredients about 5 minutes.
Add
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 cup cauliflower, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped (I use 1 qt of home canned tomatoes)
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups water or chicken broth
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, simmer until rice, lentils and vegetables are soft (20-30 minutes). The dish will be stew like.
You may use any combination of vegetables including dark green leafy vegetables. I used canned tomatoes and okra from my garden that tasted great! Be creative and adventurous.
Let me know how you like the recipe.
Here’s hoping you had a great day enriched with lifes’ simple pleasures.
Yesterday my choir had a performance in a city an hour and a half away. I admit I felt a twinge of anxiety when I stepped into our school’s new minibus as the driver. I am a farm girl and have driven a wide variety of vehicles, but this thing is big!
As we pulled onto the interstate a silence rolled over the bus and the rhythm of the road settled in. I enjoyed a long, un-interupted moment admiring the beautiful blue sky as white whispy clouds danced before my eyes. The sun warmed my face, my whole being, even though the day was a chilly 30 degrees. In most circumstances this moment would have been the best thing about the day. But there was more.
My vocal ensemble participated in a choir festival where approximately 250 students gathered together to share their love and passion for music. I observed joy on their faces during each activity of the day, culminating in excited chatter as they relived the wonderful experiences of the day.
I was blessed with two simple pleasure treasures yesterday! What did you treasure yesterday?
Quarter Amish 