~~~Gratitude~~~

SNOW!

I am Grateful for SNOW!  I love snow!!! We finally had a good storm this past week.  Now my world is a wintry wonderland!   I love being able to go out my back door and snow shoe right into the woods.  I love the light that is created by the white world.  I love the kind of quiet I experience in my little frosty domain.  

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest.  I seldom experienced snow in my backyard.  Snow required a 2 hour drive to the Cascade Mountains for skiing on the weekend. I know a lot of folks that are affected by the low winter light here in Maine.  But for me winter is brilliant.  The snow makes the world blindingly bright!  Even after 30 years in Maine I remember the long gray rainy winters of Washington.  I will take the cold, the ice, the shoveling, the tricky travel all in exchange for snow!

Winter Trees

All the complicated details

of the attiring and

the disattiring are completed!

A liquid moon

moves gently among

the long branches.

Thus having prepared their buds

against a sure winter

the wise trees

stand sleeping in the cold.

BY WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS

It is my intention, each Sunday, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your gratitude's. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~~

Quiet

For some time now I have made a practice of choosing a word to contemplate for the year.  2012's word was "quiet".  Now with the year coming to an end it is time for reflection as well and making my final choice for 2013.  But first a little about my tradition.  

I have a great love of words.  Not only their meaning but I like their shapes.  I love just to look at particular letters.  (cursive capital G has been my favorite since I was a girl~~O is my other favorite letter).  I have been a terrible speller all my life (much gratitude for spell checkers...though sometime my spelling is so bad spell check can't figure it out!).  The word "if" can look wrong to me.  I was a good student in school, otherwise (back in my day we were graded on spelling..it was a subject in grammar school).  Well this affliction made me  friends with dictionaries.  I still love to read them.  A high school teacher finally had me tested and I seem to have some mild form of dyslexia.  But it is a blessing.  Simplest words looking "wrong" to me has created a need to look.  I sometimes just look at a word for a while until my brain assures me that it is spelled correctly. During that "looking" I see more than the meaning and the spelling.  I see flowing lines and beauty.

I am a seeker.  I am on the search for meaning in this life.  I am inclined to experiment with different practices to energize my search.  Some work for me, some don't.  The word for the year practice is a keeper!  I started at age 40 and have kept it up every year since.  Some of the more memorable word include: enough, truth, relish, and humble.  I have a big story around "humble" that I will share later this winter.  It goes along with this piece of fiber art I created. https://www.etsy.com/listing/91793140/monks-robe-humble-fiber-art-icelandic

So this year was QUIET.  Quiet has been a rather quiet word for me.  No big shake ups that I am aware of but, I am quieter.  Especially, with my teenage son.  It was his request for me to speak in a lower tone that prompted the word choice.  I have a bit of a hearing loss, so I guess I talk louder than I used too.  I have been putting awareness towards my level of speech.  I also took 2 days of silence during the summer to get really quiet.  I even taught Runa to come when I clapped so I didn't have to speak.  I have surrounded my self with more quiet.  I watch less TV, I seldom listen to the radio, and have been engaging in tasks that quiet my busy brain.  I looked into "Quietism", not an idea I need to explore further but, glad to know it exists .  Quiet is not the same as silence.  It is closer to stillness but, not quite that either.  Of course, I read many dictionary and thesaurus definitions, my favorite was "freedom from unwanted sound".  I think this describes quiet the best for me.  But, now it is time to put quiet to bed. I will always have more awareness for the word from here on out.  It is so nice and quiet here now with all of our snow, a perfect time to say good bye. I will leave you with this wonderful Pablo Neruda poem I discovered during this year's searchings.

Keeping Quiet 

by Pablo Neruda. (trans. Alastair Reid.)

And now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.

For once on the face of the earth
let's not speak in any language,
let's stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

Fisherman in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would not look at his hurt hands.

Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.

What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about,
I want no truck with death.

If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.

Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.

Now I'll count up to twelve,
and you keep quiet and I will go.

The Path Continues 

~~~Gratitude~~~

"If we are to create peace in our world, we must begin with our children." Mahatma Gandhi

I am Grateful to have raised a son to nearly age 18.  I am Grateful for all the children that have flowed through my life.  In light of the recent events in Connecticut I cannot help but be a part of the collective grief.  I think the most awful thing must be to lose a child.   I do not just consider the children that were killed at Sandy Hook, I feel for all the losses across the world.  Whether it is "collateral damage" during times of war, famine, or diseases like aids each loss is no less painful to the ones who love their children.  And too the teachers who lost their lives I honor their power of love for children.  Many parents, myself included, know in our heart of hearts we would give our own life to spare our child's.  Maybe we can take some of that energy of sacrifice and do more to make this world a safer more peaceful place.  PEACE~~~let it begin with me.

In quiet tribute I share some of my many happy memories I have experienced raising my son.  My heart goes out to all of those folks who have lost the possibilities of such joys.

It is my intention to share each Sunday something that fills me with Gratitude.  I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~!  I hope you will join me and share what fills you with gratitude and how it has changed your moment. Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste' ~~~~~~~~~~~

Winter Solstice Peace

This is Winter Solstice where I am.  I love winter.  I love the cold, the snow, the dark, the quiet.  So a quiet little poem.  Wishing you a deep cold breath of winter air.

It is our quiet time.
We do not speak, because the voices are within us.
It is our quiet time.
We do not walk, because the earth is all within us.
It is our quiet time.
We do not dance, because the music has lifted us to where spirit is.
It is our quiet time.
We rest with all of nature.  We wake when seven sisters wake.
We greet them in the sky over the opening of kiva.

Nancy Wood

someone else who loves winter...snow bath!

Random Acts of Niceness

My favorite tradition during the holiday season is the giving.  I find so much simple joy in giving.  Much of our societies  giving is based on giving and getting.  My enjoyment comes from the giving with little or no possible reciprocation...except a bit of gratitude.  I started this tradition of random giving when I was in elementary school.  I would make cards and just leave them places where someone might find them.  I would always leave a card in my mailbox for the postman (they were only men when I was a girl).  I thought it a thankless job.  I never met my postman but was grateful for the mail I receive because of his work (I was sort of a pen pal nut).

In adulthood I have continued my little private tradition.  I call it "A Random Act of Niceness".  But the giving isn't all random.  I always give to my present postman...I know him, his name is Roy.  He is wonderful bright spot in my day.  He has a laugh like Santa Claus and is  always cheerful about picking up my Etsy Packages.  Thanks Roy!!

So what I do is make a bunch of baked goodies (like biscotti see yesterdays post).  I package them up, usually on a plate, but this year I acquired a bunch of stockings for 10 cents each!   I make a little card (last year I used a letterpress card "Occupy Love" by A Revolutionary Press, Harborside ME) with a meaningful quote and attach it to the "Niceness".  Then the giving begins.  There are a few others that aren't random anymore like the guys at the recycling center.  This year I had my husband take it for me when he went recycling...the guys..asked after me even though I just say hi ~ bye to them!  I give to our bottle redemption guy as well.  With the rest I try to be more random until they are gone.  Sometimes it is the Fedex or UPS person.  I have given them to cashiers even people on the street.  

My best one this year was at the car dealers.  I had to get some warranty work done that I was told would take up to 2 hours.  I checked in with the receptionist, a rather monotone experience.  I had my stocking hidden below the counter.  When I was all checked in I pulled the stocking into view and this gal squealed with delight!!  She was old enough to be a grandma but she acted like a girl.  She told me that she always says, "Christmas is for little kids and ME!"  Well, by golly, my car was finished in 30 minutes!

These bits of niceness are really acts of love honoring our inner connected-ness.   

Wishing you Joy in this time of Giving!

Biscotti Extravaganza!

I have a best friend.  As true blue as they get.  The kind of friend you can always count on even when times are beyond bad...or may seems so.  But, what is most wonderful about my best friend is we have FUN!  I am talking about balmy with an emphasis on silliness.  We are pirates~~~yes with pirate names!  I am Desdemona and she is Esmeralda...Desmo and Esmo for short.  To keep my best pal blog-nonymous  (this is my baby) I will refer to her as Esmo her true pirate name.  

We are both crazy hard workers.  To some, our fun may look like a whole lot of effort, especially our annual tradition of biscotti making.  We are not talking about a leisurely day of baking.  It is a flour flying, tunes cranking, egg cracking event!  This year we broke our record with 34 loaves!  (we made a note on the recipe that this just~ might ~ be enough).  We give most of our creations away.  I have a tradition of random acts of niceness...next blog post.  In the mean time here are some photos of the fun +++ the recipe!

Basic Recipe

All Ingredients Room Temperature 

Pre-Heat Oven to 350

Cream Butter & Sugar

10 Tbs of Butter

1 cup of Sugar

Add Next 3 Ingredients & Mix

1 Tbs of extract

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Add Eggs One at a Time Until Blended

4 eggs

Add Flour to make a Moderately Stiff Dough

4 cups of unbleached flour

A splash of Milk if too Stiff or More Flour as needed

Now Stir in the Goodies (see ideas below)

Form 2 Long Loaves on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone liner

Bake about 20 minutes at 350 ~~~ Until tooth pick comes out clean.

Keep an eye on the baking you may need to rotate the pans depending on your oven

Remove from the oven and cool thoroughly 

we use my unheated breezeway as a cooling area...really speeds things up

Then slice 1/2 inch to and inch thick...what ever is your pleasure

Time for us to open our bottle of wine and enjoy while we clean up the kitchen too.

Oven at 375

Bake Slices Flat for about 8 - 10 minutes

Flip and Bake Again for 8 - 10 minutes

Until just a hint of browning happens.

Eat crumbs that were created during the cutting for the second bake!

Keep records of the goodies you like best for future enjoyment

The Biscotti Freezes Beautifully for a Month...never lasted longer than that!

HAPPY MESS!

Dueling Mixers

Runa's Favorite Part!

GOODY LIST

Here are some of the combinations Esmo & Desmo have made over the years...

Heaping Cup of White Chocolate & 1 cup of Dried Cranberries (all time fav)

The Zest and Juice of 2 lemons (need a bit more Flour) Use Lemon Extract instead of Vanilla and a cup of Dried Blueberries OR Dried Cranberries (I LOVE lemon)

2 cups of Toffee Chips

1 cup Peppermint Candy Crushed & Heaping cup of Dark Chocolate (kid fav)

1 cup Crystallize Ginger & 1 cup of White Chocolate 

plus 4 Tbs~yes tablespoons~of Ginger Powder.  Bazinga!  Didn't share these TOO good!

2 cups Andes Mint Chips

Substitute Butter for PEANUT BUTTER 

+ 1 cup Reeses Chips + 1 cup Chocolate Chips + 1 cup Dry Roasted Peanuts

(My Hubbies fav)

1 cup home Dried Apples (chopped) + Caramel Baking Chips + 1 tbs Cinnamon

We have tried many others but these have proved to be delicious!  I encourage you to be creative and find your own wonderful combinations.  I think it is time for tea!

The Staging Area

Runa on Guard 

~~~Gratitude~~~

I am grateful for ducks.  We have the pleasure of caring for 7 Runner Ducks.  They have been under our care for 3 1/2 years now.  We loving call then the "Cluster Ducks" or for you Star Trek Fans..."The Borg".  Ducks are less individual and more community.  They are easy to care for and provide us with wonderful eggs.  They forage like crazy for insects, slugs, and snails. But mostly, I am grateful to have them in my life to just watch.  They are delightful creatures.  They greet me each morning with a wonderful bowing dance as I let them out of their house we call "Duckingham Palace".  And yes, I bow and dance with them...sorry no video?!?!

I will write more about ducks down the road and welcome any questions from would be quack care takers.  I am still new to the blogging rhythm.  I have a lot I want to share.  It IS the busy holiday season. I just want you to know I am still here and expect to be more rhythmic once the next week or so passes.  In the meantime enjoy these few photos of my girls with some duck poetry to go along.

The Duck

Behold the duck. 

It does not cluck. 

A cluck it lacks. 

It quacks. 

It is specially fond

Of a puddle or pond. 

When it dines or sups, 

It bottoms ups. 

Ogden Nash

This poem was one of my son's favorites when he was a little guy.  We used to recite it together nearly every night for several years.  That was many years before having ducks.  Maybe, this poem gave me the ducky desire?

`Ducks' Ditty.'

All along the backwater,
Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling,
Up tails all!

Ducks' tails, drakes' tails,
Yellow feet a-quiver,
Yellow bills all out of sight
Busy in the river!

Slushy green undergrowth
Where the roach swim--
Here we keep our larder,
Cool and full and dim.

Everyone for what he likes!
WE like to be
Heads down, tails up,
Dabbling free!

High in the blue above
Swifts whirl and call--
WE are down a-dabbling
Up tails all!

Kenneth Grahame ~~~ Wind in the Willows

Winter Light

 Winter solitude--

in a world of one color

the sound of wind.

Basho

This was today's light.  I tried to delay my walk in order to enjoy the sunshine that was predicted for today.  But Runa, my dog, could not wait.  Her need allowed me to experience a wonderful winter glow as the sun was making it's entrance.  It was particularly quiet today.  The wind was a low whisper.  I was in peaceful solitude, enveloped in the serene energy of the world around me. I send you a sigh of contentment.

The Cold ~~~ Wendell Berry

How exactly good it is

to know myself

in the solitude of winter,

my body containing its own

warmth, divided from all

by the cold; and to go

separate and sure

among the trees cleanly

divided, thinking of you

perfect too in your solitude,

your life withdrawn into

your own keeping

--to be clear, poised

in perfect self-suspension

toward you, as though frozen.

And having known fully the

goodness of that, it will be

good also to melt.

Gratitude

I am grateful for the many great thinkers and teacher throughout time. Seems when I need words of wisdom I find them.   I was a bit out of sorts so I started reading my collected Merton quotes and this one popped!

“Finally I am coming to the conclusion that my highest ambition is to be what I already am. That I will never fulfill my obligation to surpass myself unless I first accept myself, and if I accept myself fully in the right way, I will already have surpassed myself.”
– Thomas Merton, Journal, October 2, 1958

I have a Reiki Practice.   I have been putting myself out there more in order to expand my work.   Sometimes the work is judged and I feel challenged.  But it is a part of "what I already am".  

So with acceptance I continue and open to the possibilities.  Thanks Thomas!

Lichen Lit

Contrast is the best way I can describe the Maine weather, lately.  Yesterday was warm enough to run around without a coat.  But today the wind was whipping requiring scarf and mittens.  This contrast got me to thinking about lichen.  Yes, my mind goes to strange places sometimes!  You may or may not be aware of the fact that lichen is a combination of fungus and algae.  Two contrasting forms of life together creating what seems to be one thing.  Rather it is a co-creation of an existence.   A beautiful one at that.  

The photos here are of a 20 year old stump in one of my flower gardens.  I left the stump there on purpose to see what nature would bring.  I was rewarded by the act of looking.  All the hues around here now are of browns, grays, and fading greens...except for this one stump.  A closer look revealed a Lilliputian garden of crimson.  Some contrasts are bold and hard to ignore while other require a closer look.

Well, when my mind wonders...poetry is the next thing on the agenda.  So I Googled "Lichen Poetry" and this lovely site had these and many more offerings.    http://hellopoetry.com/words/lichen/

ENJOY....I did!

Raj Arumugam "earthing trees and the creeping moss and lichen"

under the birches one may sit

under the birches one may sit
under the trees
perhaps on a rock, a stump
in the quiet
in the solitude
in this light
The Japanese umbrella by one’s side
One in one’s best clothes
here may one sit
in one’s time
as if all of life has been a journey
to this single point, to this one place
One on one’s own, having come into the world so
and all relationships and realities coming to this
in the midst of this, one may sit
with the light, and colors and with the earth
and the sky and the water
as if finding one’s place in this life, on this radiant earth
amidst the breathing trees and the creeping moss and lichen
one may come to one’s poise and silence
a moment beyond thought and emotion
one coming into one’s own
a transcending of pain and disquiet
a coming into peace, into stillness and seeing it all
all things, all movement, seeing all as it is

poem based on painting "Under the birches" (1881) by Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt

Devan Proctor "Within the air, defined with moss and lichen, and casualties of wet rotting wood-dep"

Present Moment #21

Within the air, defined with moss and lichen, and casualties of wet rotting wood-depletion on the dregs of the summit, is a flicker of reality. Here, no naked cedars or fair-weather friends are bent and leaning along the sturdy, unadorned spines of rifle green spruces. The stone-crushed trail takes above the haze of tree lines, founding a path by and beyond the fickle trustworthiness of rocks, and the wind carries all of fog and cloud away, and whispers like one thousand ghosts, and deceives the shrouded mountain’s inclines, unfolding above unto the soft clarity of dew and silence. The only reality is a place where the neck can ease its craned crooked coils to view the now-seemingly distant and muted pale orb of a star. And nothing here cannot breathed with. And nothing that can’t be understood is here amongst the scarred-ancient black cliffs and fissions of olden earth-crust and time. And nothing scales above the lonely, opening a prayer in the sky and the space.

 A "Lichen coats faces"

Haiku #8

Lichen coats faces
weathering ancient beauty
Stone and earth are one

Nov. 5, 2010

Travis Dixon "lichen which"

Like

Like this.
Like that.
Like this
likes that
that likes
these & those.
Liken this
to that
lichen which
grows
so slow
over corpse & stone,
the likes of which
so few know
or like, let alone
love, like
we know
we should.