Kindness. Seashells. Purple Mason Jars.

"They" say "Kindness begets kindness." When you do something nice for another then they naturally do something nice in return. Or so "they" say. We all know it doesn't work that way all the time nor should we expect a kindness in return.  Like "they" say at Christmas "It's better to give then to receive." But how many of us still get butt hurt when we don't get anything in return?

We all have many sides to us. (Kinda like being shaped liked a stop sign.) 8 sides to represent different aspects of ongoing daily life. We work hard at our jobs or at least go for the paycheck even though we despise being there. We want and need more time with family during the holidays or Spring Break. We want our hang out times with good friends, good food, and good drinks ... laughter that last for hours and a good night sleep satisfied by the wrinkles formed from our laugh lines. Some of us spend many waking hours praying to our higher power in hopes that there will be favor poured out upon us.
One aspect of our lives seems to always take the front center stage. Usually we can count on our professions for the time hog. Not much can be done anymore without money exchanged, we gotta pay bills, we gotta buy food, we gotta yada yada the list goes on. We all struggle with what can we do to make things better or easier.


Always searching for that more complete centered life.
Always searching for balance.

One side of my life is of course my professional life, this intersects with about three other sides and turns into a big cloudy mess which I absolutely love. For years now I have been a consultant you could say for small businesses, mostly women starting out on their own, getting their feet wet, and making money on their passions. We work mainly through the basics of how things work and why they work so well but I have been finding there is a serious missing link to the women and the bigger question of why they do the things they do. Why do you want to start your business, why do you think it would help locally or globally? Sorry to say that not many even think outside the preverbal box and understand what they could leave behind as a legacy.

You could say I am the annoying 2 year old in a private business meeting.
Why? Why? Why? That question will come out more times then any other word. Stamp that GUARANTEED!

Just recently I spent a good solid 6 weeks of Sunday's working with a couple that are venturing out on their own in the business world. What a change of pace. Two different mindsets at the same table and yet two different passions and two different plans. Love a good challenge but this was by far the greatest gift that I could share.


We sat Sunday after Sunday at our dining room table. Searching, researching, and note taking the many possibilities that lie ahead for each of them. Notebooks were filled, sharpies went dry from the picture drawing, excitement was shown and heart wrenching decisions were made. All in the comfort of the country style wooden chairs. My heart sings as I look back over the time spent. What I dished out for free 6 weeks not only opened the eyes of the two about to fly but it raised my serotonin levels to new highs. (To bad Dr. Mandy didn't draw blood on those days!)

Kindness.

I can be a sucker and a push over with my knowledge, skills and expertise but not this time. The want to give was stronger then the need to be paid. There was no invoice exchanged, no intention of money exchanged, no desire for the want of getting anything in return. Just the desire to watch these two successfully launch their dreams.

I had no idea that my kindness would be repaid with the absolute most perfect gift. Really!! What garden savvy creature who has loved the color purple her entire life wouldn't die for the new Ball Canning Mason Jars in said purple!?(Insert sappy swooning here) Don't ponder this question too hard. Just go with it. My eye lashes batted a few times, my heart skipped several beats, and once again my serotonin levels reached an all time high!

Kindness begets kindness.

Little did I know that kindness not only begets kindness but it begets appreciation, it begets gratitude, it begets deeper relationships, it begets ... love. Sooooooo, I could not bear to seal up my collard greens that wintered over and hide the jars in my pantry. Seriously just couldn't do it. My mind pondered for several days as to what I would do with the beautiful pint gems. Then it hit me! We need  some new fancy Hillbilly Wine Goblets!!

Yes!!
Thats It!!
They will be perfect!!

Kindness begets kindness begets more kindness.

We can now have a fancy-dancy dinner party for 6 and break open a newly  sealed bottle of homemade wine and everyone can partake in the kindness. A present such as this should never be tucked away hidden on a shelf, no way! This type of kindness needs to be shared over and over again.


Many trips to the junk stores and extreme hours spent searching for the perfect glass candlesticks proved worthless but when small little vases caught my eye I knew those were going to be perfect. Filled each vase with tiny shells from collected necklaces, epoxied the tops to the bottoms of the jars and bingo!

Perfected kindness.


Now I take this moment to raise my purple perfected goblet and say cheers! Cheers to the humans that understand working hard on oneself, who learn from heartfelt gratitude, who share a deep sense of love with their friends, who strive for simplicity, who pray for abundance, but most of all those who share their kindness to the world

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self-Reliance. Freedom. Consequences.

There is something to be said about gardenin' and experiencin' fresh grown parsley as a freedom. One thing that could be mentioned is the obsessive weed pullin' and the constant need of keepin' things tighty. Another thing is the observation of the freedom that comes from not rushin' off to the store when  fresh herbs are needed for lasagna or that craving for butternut squash soup kicks in.

Herb patch just outside the front door.

Yes, that was the point of startin' my saucy garden but never realized how far this freedom thing could really go. (If you have followed the story on Facebook, Twitter or even Instagram you have noticed the name changed from #mysmallgarden or #mysaucygarden  to #mysaucysquashgarden.

So many squash!
So little time and jars!

Yes, I wanted to work my way out of the grocery store and not pay high prices for the food that I was just goin' to eat and eventually poop out. I have a hard time with spendin' a lot of money on such things. I know, I know food is a necessity but do I really need to pay more then half my life savin's to support my necessity problem? I think not.

What I didn't bargain for was the total thoughts of freedom that has begun to fill my mind! I am a girl that doesn't like to work, nor do I like to work hard. Ok. I better clarify that statement. If I start a project for my own personal enjoyment, or purpose then I will work hard at seein' it finished. The garden is the perfect example of this idea. I will work endlessly on waterin' or cannin' but weedin' somewhere else for people that don't enjoy their gardens is harder for me to justify. I get the work done and I do a good job but it really isn't the same. Time restrictions or competency have slowed some projects but when I look to the bigger picture the finished projects will only add to the outcome of total food freedom.

Taking down the fence and revealing the back yard.

More clean-up is needed! Need to plant more food!

I have a yard of unfinished garden projects but that will not detour me from always startin' new ones and improvin' on the already existin' ones. Boobie pink garden boxes for instance. I have 12 foot pieces of wood that are painted a lovely shade of boobie pink pointin' to the sky waiting to be cut down and screwed together. They have been leanin' up against the house, the fence and the shed for a month and I have grown fond of the color! My schedule sometimes doesn't match others and so they sit waitin' for construction day. Those lovely boards will see there full potential soon! Sorry neighbors.

Beautiful boobie pink garden boxes in the making.

Gobs of left over paint from the shed created such a gorgeous pink color ;)

Then there is the garden with a time schedule of its own. Plantin' comes early in Spring, compostin' it all comes just before the snow hits in the Winter. There is 256 days in the mean time to harvest, dry, jar or preserve everythin'. Life can get chaotic through this time especially if the plan is to store up for more then a month. This saucy garden has helped pack away enough veggies for at least 1 year so far!

The garden has not been a group effort, it has been truly a one woman dance and for that I am thankful. Don't get me wrong the black boys have done their fair share of pullin' "weeds" aka salad greens, collard greens and such but the overall effort has been a solo show.

Findin' that I can pull together almost three hundred square feet of toiled dirt and produce some pretty amazin' photos and tasty food has truly been an eye opener and a challenge that has been very rewardin'.

As I have learned ... the best way to do anythin' is to do it myself.
To be self-reliant.

There comes a personal freedom in the process of doin' things alone. No one else has the ambition to run out every mornin' and pick what is ripe. (Right after a few camera shots get clicked off). No one else has the excitement of watchin' yet another zucchini ripen in late August like I do and frankly my heart is alright with that. Others in the house will benefit from the food but it is up to me to keep it all growin' and producin'.

What I am really gettin' at is ... it's nice to be livin' in the freedom that I have always dreamt about. Livin' in this new freedom is allowin' the life that I have always wanted. Free from excessive bills and the credit card trap. Free from runnin' off every mornin' to a job I hate and freedom to make better choices based on the plans I set for myself. There are the day-to-day rituals of goin' to work but even that has taken on a new emotional energy. Relief rather then stress, calmness instead of dread, 3 hours of gardenin' for someone rather than 8 eight hours of pure hell workin' for the dreams of others.

I am livin' in MY fantasy!
I am at the start of livin' in MY dreams!

No longer are the words "if only" rollin' off my tongue. No longer am I blamin' others for what I am not gettin' or what I am needin'. Takin' the monster blackberry and wrestin' it to the ground you could say. There is no more dark shadows lingerin' over me, forcin' me to choose between fresh or canned, suckin' me in to eatin' the wrong foods or shoppin' for the sodium-filled-boxes that line the shelves because that is what I can afford. No more goin' hungry.

Trust me, you wont see me runnin' off to join some major radical group pushin' their "believe-us-we-are-right" agenda now, nor will you see words come across your screen tryin' to convince you into somethin' that you really don't desire either. Your freedoms are different then mine. Ahhh ... but you will find me mixin' and stirin' in some kelp meal in my compost for the trace minerals that the body needs.

The cost of freedom isn't cheep. It doesn't cost a buck o' five. There are consequences and hard choices that lead to givin' up one thing for somethin' better. Makin' the sacrifice of not growin' eggplant but more tomatoes for salsa, for example.

This saucy squash garden has fought many battles this summer and has won many victories but there has been a few battles that we couldn't win, a few give an takes that were hard pressed. The corn suffered dearly under the leadership of the flies and in a matter of hours was completely devastated, only a few young ears were salvaged. Each lesson that was learned this summer will only prove that this whole adventure was worth while, it will drive me to learn more about fruits and veggies, and it will keep the momentum goin' through the cold winter months.

Next years plans for the garden are already underway. Design plans have been thought out but not yet put to paper. New 2x12's, recycled doors and 4x4's have been collected, purchased, or rummaged so that the new plantin' boxes will begin to take form. In this case the small little victories and the loses of this year has brought on the excitement to build more freedoms and to build a bigger better garden. My hope runs deep but most of all my actions are propellin' me closer to livin' and experiencin' other freedoms that are needed for better health in all aspects of life.

You could say the biggest changes have been findin' the gumption needed to turn the grass to soil, the inertia to seed and care for the starts, and the stamina to see each leafy plant to the compost bin. Now there are bigger changes on the horizon. So I continue to dream, plan, and produce mass amounts of squash!

No more miracle wishin'.
No more searchin' for a new body to fall from the sky.
No more prayin' for a way out of my sickness. I have found the answers.

... and I have found my healthy eatin' freedom.