WELCOME THE NEW!!

"A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other."

YULE BLOG

"You know you've grown up
when none of the things you want
for Christmas can be bought at a store."

ALL IS CALM. . . . (cause the precious children aren't up yet!) I am enjoying the moment. Sipping my coffee,watching the fire, and listening to Melissa Ethridge belt out:

It's time to let go of all our past
And let go of what's to come
What do we have, what do we have not?
What do we need that isn't here?
This mindless, numb, consuming
Is driven by a subtle fear
It's time we stopped believing
That there will not be enough
I know they said it on the TV
So turn it off, break the chains
Step outside and feel the love
Choose only love

Now that is more like it. FEEL THE LOVE. . .
Ben is wagging his tail and nuzzling me.
Yep, I can feel the love!!

What if we could create peace on Earth?
I wonder what that would look like
What if we all stopped believing the line
That happiness comes from a stork?
What if we all started spreading the news
There's nothing to fear anymore?
What if we all took the time to be still?
We are connected, one family of light
Hallelujah

So I am taking the time to be still. Enjoying the peace before the "family of light" gathers and it is time to eat, drink and be merry!
Hallelujah!!

BEATING JACK FROST

In my previous post, I mentioned Jack Frost biting at my toes. We had unseasonably warm weather all fall. My "winter" garden was flourishing. Then the thermometer plummeted to the twenties. That's Fahrenheit. For those of you Fahrenheit-challenged, -2 or -3 Celsius. So one frosty morning, I remembered I had better harvest or end up with green goo.

So just thought you might enjoy seeing the December produce fresh from the garden.

ROASTING CHESTNUTS ON AN OPEN FIRE. . .

And Jack Frost IS nipping(CHOMPING) at my toes . . .

But this roasting chestnuts has got to be a urban myth!! Imagine you will, a lovely bag of chestnuts!! You can even imagine them IN FRONT of an open fire!! A friend of mind gave me such a bag and I SHOULD HAVE just thrown them INTO an open fire, but instead I thought I would prepare them for eating. I vaguely remembered that some years ago, I had made this same decision and regretted it. I was making some stuffing and found that the peeling was so tedious, I said I would NEVER do that again. But alas, the memory faded and I thought that perhaps, I just didn't have the correct technique. So after doing some research on the internet. . . I began the task of MUTILATING the chestnuts. There was nothing wrong with my technique upteen years ago. It was fairly easy to shell the outer shell, but to remove the "pellicle" (the pinkish inner skin) proved to be "hellicle".
I did manage to rescue a few. . . enough to flavor some soup possibly. . . In the future, I will honor my gut feeling. . .

BUY THEM PEELED!

GRATITUDE IS THE BEST ATTITUDE!

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
STAY off your thighs!


Gratitude can transform common days
into thanksgivings,
turn routine jobs into joy,
and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
- William Arthur Ward-




HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!!
I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to Spring.

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.

~Stanley Horowitz

Maybe I am politically incorrect, but we are enjoying an "Indian summer" with unusually warm weather. Still lots of harvesting going on but I have planted my winter garden and I'm already nibbling on the shoots coming up!!

The leaves are taking their own sweet time turning. Then as if tired of the morphing--just drop colorless to the ground. They get swept up quickly with the mower.

I grew up in Michigan and the fall was extremely colorful and meant intensive manual labor raking, then jumping into the big pile. Which then there was more raking and piles. Harvest time we would have to help my mom pick assorted fruits and vegetables. We would sit and shell the peas or beans and share jokes and stories or play 20 questions. Blueberries were my favorite fruit to pick. The berries were as big as quarters and I would hang my bucket around my neck and milk the vines, pausing to pop handfuls into my mouth. Sweet memories.

Seasons change and life moves on.
Breathe deep and be mindful of the moment.

GOAT WRANGLER

One of our neighbors has a collection of goats. Most of the fence has been reinforced, but wouldn't you know it there was just a small portion that was not. Now you might notice in these pictures that the "goat yard" is a little sterile--bleak--bland. So it probably isn't too surprising that day after day of looking at our oasis, fruit trees, lawn, and green shrubbery that the goats managed to find a weakness in the fence. In just moments, they were feasting on the Frodahl Farm.

Shortly after, Ernie returned to find that goats grazing happily in our back yard. Now we have a hedge of Oleanders along the fence-line. Oleanders are a huge green shrub that is toxic in all it's parts, especially to animals. It is one of the most poisonous of commonly grown garden plants. Ernie could just envision that they were very close to munching on these leaves, if they hadn't already. We don't have a border collie or a cattle dog,just Ben, who could care less if there are stray animals in the yard. (even ignored a couple of horses that wandered in!) So, he knew he had to quickly round up the goats. This sounds like nothing to it, but the goats were like kids with no interest in moving anywhere. He coaxed and pleaded and finally just had to pick them up and carry them to the garage one by one. He had left a note at the neighbors, so finally the guy's mother shows up flustered in a small compact car cause "the guy" was out of town. . . .


Next thing she knew, whether she liked it or not, Ernie had loaded the 5 goats in to the back seat of the car. She was very anxious, but Ernie reassured her to just HURRY HOME! I wish he had taken a picture of 5 goats in the back seat of a car!! So we will just have to leave that for the imagination.

DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT!!

For those of you that have never heard of Reading Rainbow,it was a PBS children's TV series hosted by Levar Burton. It was one of our favorite shows. Each episode centered on a theme from a book which was explored through a number of stories. The show also provided book recommendations for kids to look for when they went to the library and the show ended with the slogan: "Don't take my word for it!". I remember taking Elliott to the library when he was about 4 and he would ask for "The life cycle of the honey bee by Paula Hogan" or "A Chair for my Mother by Vera B Williams". I was just amazed. In honor of that show, I thought that maybe I would do a RR-style blog centered on a book that you will hopefully ask for at your local library. But don't take my word for it!!

The NY bestseller that has captured me is: Lost in Shangra-La. "A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II." A plane carrying 24 members of the military, crashed into the New Guinea jungle during a sightseeing excursion. The three survivors were stranded deep in a jungle valley notorious for its cannibalistic tribes. Or as the author put it, “crash-landed in a world that time didn’t forget. Time never knew it existed.”

This is a riveting story and captured my interest because in 1973, my mom,brother and I made a visit to this "cannibal valley"-or Baliem Valley. The only way in, to this day, is still by airplane. It is a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains and occupied by the Dani people-a stone age gentle and peaceful tribe that has survived into the 20th century. Primitive in many ways, but agriculturally very advanced with large cultivated gardens of huge cabbages, sweet potatoes and beans. The outside world hadn't totally gotten to it yet. . . yet.

One of the locals told us he would take us to see a "mummy" in another village not too far away. We began walking. . . and walking. . . and 2 1/2 hours later, after passing many villages, arrived at the "mummy village". Then they wouldn't show it to us, unless we paid some money. (Primitive, but understand a commercial opportunity) I did find the mummy unique---"old man pickin' his toes" I wrote in my diary. Jerry had brought his Polaroid camera and took a picture of the chief. The expressions on their faces when they watched the picture emerge was priceless. They crowded around and scrutinized it carefully and there was an anxious moment as the chief looked at it. . . . then he finally broke into a broad grin. SAFE!

So I hope you will pick up this book and read about the history of the Valley!

But Don't take my word for it!

Babies are so cute. . . and then they grow up!

A month ago, we went to the feed store and picked up these adorable soft, fuzzy baby chicks-4 different breeds. That way we get beautiful colorful eggs.

Now they have rapidly grown to gnarly teenagers squawking at everything! Not only that, but do you see anything wrong with this picture of hens?

Could it be that one of "the girls" seems to be masquerading as a ROOSTER!!

Love is the key that opens the doors of happiness. . .

WE'RE WAITING!27 Years

The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret.

MONKEY CLIMB THE TREE POSE

I kid you not. This was a new one for me today in Pilates. I even had to ask the teacher if she made this one up!! She insisted it is a Pilates pose. Here is Joseph himself doing a pose, but if he were doing the monkey climb pose, he would be working his hands like he was climbing a tree or rope!?!?!?


This kitten says it all for me. . . WHATEVER!!!

PILATES--FRENCH FOR PAIN IN THE LEGS, ARMS, BUTT AND ESPECIALLY THE STOMACH!

That would be "THE CORE"! Since my next birthday is a major milestone. . . I had a little discussion with myself that I would get my body into better shape by the time I have my birthday next summer. So I added Pilates, Yoga and even Piloga to my exercise routine. Piloga is just a fusion of Pilates and Yoga and is just as pain producing as either one alone. I discovered muscles I never knew I had and maybe ones I didn't even want to know I had. Nor did I have a clue how uncoordinated and out of balance I could be. I am learning new poses every time I go.

One thing that amazes me is: HOW DID THEY EVER COME UP WITH THE NAMES FOR THE POSES!

Let's start out with some of the "simple" ones.
HAPPY BABY

CHILD POSE

The "TRIANGLE POSE" explains itself:


But some of the others are just plain goofy!

CAMEL POSE:

ANGRY CAT:

DOWNWARD DOG:

UPWARD DOG:

DOWNWARD CAT:

PIGEON POSE:

COBRA POSE


WARRIOR POSE


THEN THERE IS JUST THE CREEPY. . . .

CORPSE POSE

Surprisingly, that is the one I can do the best!!!! Or maybe it is the "REVERSE CORPSE"?!?!?

In fact I think it is time to practice that pose right now. . . YAWN!!