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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Washed hands. Mental dirt.

After the cold snap drifts away and the mild winter vanishes in a blink of an eye small little wonders start to emerge from the earth. Some of those wonders appear from the well tended flower beds, some come from the perfectly toiled veggie beds, some spring up from the well trod paths, and some of them emerge from the deep caverns of our minds. Smells of oregano, basil and cilantro fill the air. All of this beckons the signs of spring and Easter weekend of 2015.

Almost all of those simple yet mysterious wonders give cause to stop and breathe in deep with a #sighofwonder ... plus they can all be found perched proudly on populated tables with baskets brimming of brightly colored fresh, most recently picked veggies, herbs or flowers from local farms. stopping to look into the eyes of a stranger.

A trip to the farmers market always proves to be a bittersweet adventure for my soul. Our little island is not so big and populated as a major metropolis so the booths don't line the city streets. There are just enough stands to make a wandering meandering circle and be done with in 20 minutes of skimming. In Portland, where I grew up the farmers market was a sight to behold. (Insert angle choir here with their hands lifted in the air) Anyone could spend the entire Saturday touring the booths of all the venders while eating some damn good yakisoba noodles and since the early 1990's the market has only grown and gotten more spectacular. I can remember street musicians playing small gigs on the street corners and the long hair grunge dancers swinging their arms in the air like they just didn't care! Corn rolls and dreds just a swaying in the human made breeze. That was a sweet time when Birkenstocks ruled the streets, the ethnic food was rampant, Mexican pullovers hoodies were all the rage yet completely scratchy on the skin, the homeless had guitar cases over flowing with dollars and our Levi jeans were cut off and rolled up above the knees.


Yet when I head to our own little hometown farmers market I can see that I have so many things in common with all the strangers faces yet we are so far away in relationship status. There clothing choices are a little more up-to-date but deep down there are a few that show up proudly sporting those sought after leather sandals. See in Portland it is so large you could get lost in the crowd and not have to pay any mind to what others were doing let alone what they were thinking. Besides most of them were swingin' their arms like they just didn't care ... lost in there own little worlds.
Now at home in our little town square there are a few people that know me, know more about me then they really should and pay attention to things I have done over the years more than they should. After all what else is there to do when you live in a peach-tree dish of germs. They have judged me for bad decision making or lifestyle changes but what are you going to do? (Wish they were swinging their hands in the air like they just don't care!) Retaliate by repeating the characteristics that you see in them? People tend to watch and mock the changes that others go through simply because they have very little excitement in their own lives or they have a set of moral standards that I nor anyone else will ever really live up to including themselves but hey, thats ok. At least they have boundaries. I guess. (shrug shoulders) In all reality that all means very little to me anymore. Really it always boils down to they don't have a clue so they make something up to satisfy their desire to know without searching for the real truth.


There was a time when these types of thoughts bothered me. The thoughts of small minded people are not my priority nor are the actions of who used to be friends. My priority lies in the soil that I tend the characteristics of my own self worth and the growing that happens eveytime I wash my hands of the mental trash. There is that famous quote that seems to circulate the social media channels at least once a week that I love to repost whenever possible. "Don't judge me until you have walk a mile in my shoes or felt the pain that I have felt." Well, something like that. That's how my brain remembers it anyway. Straight and to the point. The other good quote is: "Don't be hard on someone because you don't know the battles they are fighting." Once again that is my editorial version at its best.

How I miss going through the warm concrete city streets of Portland on a Saturday. (insert dreamy music here - something like George Winston "Summer") Getting lost in the crowds, minding my own business, being annonymus, seeing more simple wonders placed up on tables for sale. Most of the time ... remembering better happier days are on the agenda when I go to our local market. (Like to visit the past occasionally and thank the good lawrd above that I don't live there anymore) I do go to see what is new, see who is selling what and see if the hope that springs eternal in my heart for the noodles by the mile have become a reality!


One solid truth about me is this ... I am a slow girl. Growing up in a small town on the outskirts of Portland has taught me that a slower pace is not to be taken for granted but cherished. Moving at the pace of a snail is truly the best true prescription for white hairs.

I learn slow. Some mistakes in my life have turned out to be the best damn lessons that anyone could ever learn.  Loves and losses number in the millions and some of the greatest people in my lifetime I hold dear simply because of the lessons that are still being taught from their actions or words. How many people can say that they are still learning lessons from their past friends, ex-lovers, husbands or mother-in-laws?

I have matured slow. Growing up has been a difficult task. People asked me if I have lived on this rock all my life and I look at them and proudly say that I was not born here but I grew up here. They are satisfied with that answer but never really dive into its meaning. Still waiting for the day when some brave soul asks the question: "What was it like growing up here?" That will open the flood gates. They better be sitting down and drinking a beer!

Most of all I like my food grown slow. Not to say those farmers are the market didn't slowly grow their produce, but its nice to see that there are kindred spirits out there that also like there food grown at a snails pace. There is still a couple of mysteries that boggle the mind. 1. One could head off to the local garden center and see what starts are ready for planting or one could run straight to the farmers market and buy it already grown or Better yet! COOKED! 2. Seeds that give up their energy packed shells to grow in a green house or in a plot of land just out side on the warm side of the house. Some like it hot! Some like it cold! Some like it in a pot 9 days old.


This weekend's trip to the market was a great success, proved to be productive with a dozen duck eggs under my arm and an emotional healing all at the same time. I did take a few minutes to walk down memory lane and the massive streets of the Portland Farmers Market as a teenager but getting out and getting my hands washed of the mental dirt of the local people was the biggest success to date. Forcing myself to stay longer then the 20 minute skimming alloted time was the crucial pivot point. Pushing myself to be seen and not heard another impossibility that was conquered. Yes, it is amazing that people can actually physically see me, no longer can I hide in this local crowd. No longer can I wander unnoticed at 10 in the morning when they first open. Makes me seriously think about those human characteristics that I show.
Will have to try the adventure again, take a few more pictures, breathe in deep the sighs of wonders, and next time even talk to some of those beautiful strangers faces. You just never know what barriers could be broken from a simple hello.

Sigh of Wonder

Spring in February!?
There is something to be done about a winter that only smiles sunshine. That something is a very welcome deep-hearted silent bow of gratitude. No words really need spoken, just a simple bow of acknowledgement. No snow or heavy black cloud need come ruin the day but then again the sight of those were a rarity this winter.

Here it is the end of the second month and the start of the third, rain did come as a welcome surprise during February but the months before were warm and inviting. The gardens only slowed down for the holidays givin’ gardeners a chance to stretch out their fingers on other inside worth while projects.

Now that the celebrations of the Christmas season are over the weeds have returned along with the warmth of the sun. March brings with its first days an unexpected but much appreciated warmness that is fully felt deep into the roots of all creatures. Sun from the sky warms the limbs and fire from the earths core warms our roots.
Seeds from the packets, seeds from the birds and seeds from the souls are sproutin’, growin’ and bloomin’ bringin’ with them the subtle hummm of the bumble.

Spring is welcomed and celebrated in our small garden. The very last day in January we beckoned back the fire from the sky with our own version of Rum Punchin’ Candlemas. Friends gathered to drink from the Holy Well Water, feasted on Campfire Grill, and danced around the smoke pit while we all remembered past adventures and schemed over future journeys that will bring us all either further or nearer to our envisioned dreams.

Candles were lit in remembrance, hands were washed of horrible memories but the soul was restarted with a fresh kick of laughter and joy. New friends were made, secret seeds were planted but our night together still grows stronger as the days begin to get longer.
Not much more can be stated for a winter of sun. Just another deep, deep grateful bow must be given.

Thankfulness bubbles to the surface of our hearts. A warmness runs through our veins with the very thought of the next opened daff-dill or the next lemony burst of daphne or the quiet afternoon watching the hummers bomb the sugar water. A sigh of wonder.

New Dreams. New Desires. New Year.

Happy  New Dreams!
Happy New Days!
Happy New Desires!
Happy New Ways!
Happy New Year!
Happy New You!

Since we always believe that something new and wonderful is about to happen we never think that we are too old to set another resolution or to dream a new dream. We also know that tomorrow will never happen again. Yes, January 1, 2015 will never happen again.

So we lay out our resolutions and the things we want to achieve, drink less alcohol (starting right after this New Years Eve party), get a better education, get a better job or get fit by losing weight, quit smoking, save money, take a vacation, and reduce stress but we never live up to the resolutions that we set.

Because we look down the endless candle lit table of options and we see the bubbly bar staring us in the face and mocking our very first idea of a resolution. We second guess ourselves and quickly change our minds.

Ball drop cupcakes with sparklers bursting out the top scream and laugh at us and our thoughts of losing weight or getting fit  turn to "who cares, no one likes a skinny sober bitch anyways" or "you resolve your self to hang out with friends that are heavier then you" and gawd only knows what is lurking in the midnight take home bags.

So we change our thinking and our resolutions to: think positive, exercise daily, eat healthy, work hard, stay strong, worry less, dance more and be happy.

Ahhh ... yes the simple goals that we really don't have to actually achieve.
We make plans to collect memories in a jar to look at next New Years Eve and remember all the special moments that looked great at those moments in time but as we become introspective that turns us right back to self-improvement and the annual ritual of making New Years Resolutions.

You think to yourself this year will be different. This time you will write down your resolutions on a napkin and drop them in your purse so that you can remember what they are. Maybe you will go out and buy that cute little Anthropology Resolution Kit that you saw on Pinterest so that you can keep everything organized and cute.

There are so many things that sparkle on New Years Eve. New Years resolutions are just one of them and they offer you the first and perhaps the most important opportunity of:

Remaking yourself.
Redesigning yourself.
Reinventing yourself.

If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you need to do is to WAKE UP!! Stop hanging out with people who ask you what your New Years Resolutions are and start hanging out with people that truly look at their resolutions and accomplish every single one of them!

The guest list for your next Resolutions Party will look a little something like this. Mr. Mission Impossible. Ms. Plan Ahead. Professor Recover-From-My-Past. Miss Push-Through-Anything. Mr. & Mrs. Dream. The kid down the street that figured out how to do more with less. Mr. Extreme-Edge-Pusher and of course Aunty Communicate.

The object of having a "New Year" is not to should all over your self but to have a fresh start and a new chance to begin again. Once we figure out how to achieve those new found resolutions we will have a new outlook and we will certainly do more things effectively.

We will truly enjoy the confetti flying, we will be happy experiencing the fireworks at the stroke of midnight, and we will know that the little keys we have in our back pockets will not only open those big locks of opportunities but they will bring smiles that reflect our grateful attitudes for the things we learned.

And because we accomplished eating less and losing weight we can enjoy a New Year Cake pop on a stick and a fluted glass of the prettiest pink champagne from the flowing tower of Chataeu Rose.

We will have found a love and appreciation for ourselves that allowes our hearts to open and find that one true love that we can grow old with. Bursting with confidence we will be able to ask boldly for that kiss to start at 11:59 and go until 12:01 so that our old year will end right and the new start will have the perfect beginning.

Tick tock, Tick tock the hand strikes midnight and the pop, fizz and clinks we hear are the noises we will be hearing as we sing that old Scottish tune Auld Lang Syne. We will toast to the old friends of failure, disappointment, and excuse making ... they will be forgotten and to our new friends that enjoy sharing in the sweetness of success!

We will proudly open another journal with empty pages and fill the blankness with words of encouragement, people, and situations we are grateful for and the successes and achievements worthy of writing down.

We will have changed into the people we are meant to be. We will have discovered that we are the people that we always thought we could be and we will believe that there will never be, in the past or in the future, anybody that will be like us.

We know there really is no time limit we can grow or stay the same, there are no rules to this. We can make the worst of it or we will make the best of it, we will embrace the things that startle us and we will feel the feelings we have never felt before. We will enjoy new and different points of view and live lives that we will be proud of.

So lets toast to the new book we will call Opportunity and start by writing the first entry in indigo ink with the promise of filling each page with our own sweat, blood and tears.

With our glasses raised let me say this: My hope to you is that you have the determination, the strength and the audacity to make it through this year with resolutions achieved and ambition to start all over again. May your coming year be filled with hopes, dreams, magic and good madness and somewhere in the next year I hope you surprise yourself!

Happy brand spanking, sparkly covered, shiny, open new book with empty pages, full of promise, hopeful New Year!

December so far ...

December has started off so well this year. So many things have been happening, accomplished and celebrated in the first 7 days!

Here it is Pearl Harbor day which is set aside for remembering the souls that lost their lives in the bombings that Japan delivered upon American soil so many years ago. BUT for us it’s a day to remember all the fighters who stayed home from war and fought for their lives with their Victory Gardens and healthy eating. We celebrate today by working in our own little victory garden celebrating the personal freedom we choose to use over rotten produce from our local grocery store.

It’s interesting … since taking in this project on Mother’s Day weekend we have noticed so much with in our personal lives that have changed. We are not yet told that we can not have a garden with in our front yard like so many cities around the U.S. We haven’t been told we were dumb for thinking of the idea or criticized for our hard work. The opposite has happened. We have been praised, been bombarded with people wanting the extras and have come up with plans for growing our food production and preserving what we can.

Today marks a great day for our little plot of land. We went to pick up a truck load of salvage from a family that is rebuilding their garden fences with metal. Now we can finish the fencing along the back yard for the brambles to crawl upon.

Seeds were planted in the recycled milk containers that we have been saving over the past few months and the brambles have been pruned and are now ready to move them when the fence gets built.

Work Christmas parties have opened the holiday season and I for one am thankful for the night out dressed up! Once in a full moon does this kinda thing happen on an island. Or it only happens when you are desperate to get out of your flannel lined wranglers and shower the dirt off.

The Christmas spirit has completely invaded our lives and the decorations have gone up in full force. Cookies and fudge are on the menu for this weekend, wedding cookies and Buckeyes are on the agenda for next. The shopping has started but the best part is … Advent has also started.

Celebrating the first week of Advent brought with it the feelings and desires for hope. They say that those who plant seeds have the expectant desire to see a future. “Be strong and if good courage for I have a better future planned for you.” Well, we fall into that category nicely. We wait with expectant hope for the future.

We plan for the future.
We plan for the garden.
We plan so we don’t fail.

As I sit out side by the warmth of the campfire I think back to the year that we had and am thankful for the grilled dinners that were made right here on the flame. We celebrated my 40th birthday right here around this same campfire with new recycled street lamps made from chandeliers and had friends laughing, drinking and eating pizza!

We are all looking forward to what next week will bring. We are all looking forward to the coming year and what it will bring. Once again more milestones will be celebrated and more laughter await.

Merry December to you all!
Happy Christmas!!
Season’s Holiday Greetings!!

Prescription for turkey, Brazil nuts and sex.

I love my doctor.
Doctor Mandy is AWESOME.
She is the best thing since seeds.

As some of you know I have had struggles over the last couple years with my inside parts of my body. This last round of blood test have come back and they are looking pretty darn good! Thank you! I will take my bow now.

Over all my blood came back with glowing reviews. My white blood cells are looking great the red ones - on the other hand - are having a little problem with their size. Seems that they are on an ego boost and sucking all my seratonin with it.

Apparently, when Dr. Mandy took my blood she had it tested for Lyme Disease. Yes, I knew she was going to test for it simply because I hang out under bushes and play in the dirt. What was truly amazing is finding out that there could be so many different "bands" to Lyme's Disease and if you test positive for more then two then you are catagorized as sick. You have the illness. Well, since I work out side and haven't had any ticks sucking on me like small little vampires, I am doing ok.
Lucky Me!

I am fighting off one band or what is resembling one band. Things that make you go hummmm. Even though Dr. Mandy is a little concerned, I am not. She thinks that since it's only one band and not three that it could be an autoimmune something or another BUT when we got to the end of the 6 page report my blood ran free of those too. So now back to drawing baord, haha get it? gotta draw more blood.

Well anyhoo, it is a good thing that needles don't bother me. Trust me I know it would make a better story if I was.

Dr. Mandy, is so patient with me. When it comes to telling me things like my Pregnenolone levels are low she can see that she really can't tell me too much technical jarrgon without my head literally spinning around out of control and popping off so she breaks things down like this: this level is too low - eat more animal fat. She also knows I am very visual and I need help understanding a few things so she breaks out the scrap paper and starts doodling!

I love this woman!
Did I say that yet?
Ohhhhh and thank goodness she has good hand writing.

So from what I understand about pregnenolone,  the word I can type but can not pronounce (pregna - no- lone - knee, my version) has everything to do with cholesterol and eventually my hormones. So long story short my hormones are still out of whack. She put me on a natural herbal drug that I take every morning that helps balance out my emotional roller coaster but the animal fat is to help with the building of the hormones so it has everything to do with the cell structure and so on.

More medical jargon that refused to stick in my brain. I used to get enough animal fat when I could eat cow milk yogurt and drink half-n-half or eat cheese. Or just intake milk in anyway I could. Now its' a daily adventure to find more things that involve the fatty parts of animals. I have introduced goat milk and cheese but the prices of these products keep me pretty limited on what I can actually bring home. There will be a goat in the year eventually. Hint, hint boyfriend!

When I asked Dr. Mandy how vegetarians make this whole cholesterol/hormone thing work she said it doesn't.

Noted. Never go vegetarian.

Vegan? Yes! Just make sure I remember to get animal fat! So it boils down to more steaks and more vegan desserts. Ok, that is not complicated. Rolling my eyes now.

Moving on ...

My risk of cardiovascular problems have dropped below "high" and I am now sitting in the average range. I can handle that.

The best part of the test came next on page 4 of the report. MY SUGAR LEVELS HAVE DROPPED!! Taking in less refined sugar, learning to bake yummy treats with homemade applesauce or honey and dropping sugary drinks has lowered my sugar levels by two points!!

You heard that right!
2 freakin' points!!

Dr. mandy was so thrilled I had to get up from the table and do a happy dance. She was so happy because we did it soley with food. I didn't have to take prescription drugs to accomplish any of it. Noted.

My Vitamin D levels are still low. Yes, that is understandable since we garden in the islands north of the sun! My little droplets of liquid Vitamin D still need to be added to my green lucky charm flavored shake every night.

Cure for this?
Move to a warmer climate!
Lay out naked in the sun even in the 45 degree weather. Yeah that ain't happening.

My Vitamin B levels are still ringing in at low levels. This means Dr. Mandy will shoot me in the butt more times than I care for with bright red liquid filled with B-12 and other things. I really do enjoy the high for a couple hours afterwards.

Cure for the low results? I knew you wanted to know the answer!? So the cure is (drum roll) Forever on Vitamin B pills that comes labeled as Stress B-Complex, brazil nuts, squash and pumpkin seeds.

Vitamin B's are awesome!!
A legalized head rush that can really only come from the work of bees! Ahhh ... thank you bees.

Now the best part of the whole 2 hour appointment! My Serotonin levels. Well let's just say that they are so low that they were barely on the scale. Hell they were barely on the same side of the street as my red blood cells and their ego! Not enough room for the both of them so one of them had to go.

Reminds me of a conversation my best friend and I had when we lived in the same town together. Okay. Yeah, it was more of a yelling match. We decided that we would live is desperate towns.  We have stuck to that promise.

So what is Serotonin?
Yes, I had to ask. I had no idea what it was or did.

If you ever have the chance to have a visit with Dr. Mandy you will understand that she is an amazing, caring, woman that has truly packed a bunch of love in a small body. Now that I have said this it brings me to the cure from my levels falling from the charts. Kind words spoken from my heart.

Serotonin measures the amount of happiness you have in your life. Oh. Doh! She calls it my "snap shot of Joy", Guess I am not a happy person. Ouch.

How the hell do you fix that?
Yes, I had to ask this too.

She got a big smile on her face and said ... SEX ... and lots of it! I can do that! Anything else? The food cure is more turkey. Ok ... I now have 6 turkeys in my freezer.

The other? This is sure a hard one. Haven't quite figured out how to get this cure to work.

We get out joy from people telling us how great we are, how we make a difference to them or how we make a difference in the lives of others around us.

Ok with that being said. I know you all want to post comments on this blog entry telling me how awesome I am and how I make you a better person. Go ahead! Do it!! You will be helping my levels go up and you will be part of my cure! My prescription of happiness starts with you and of course the boyfriend who is thrilled about the first part.

My mind is still spinning on this and thinking of my serotonine levels brings me to start thinking deeper about how this can really work. That will be another post when I figure it all out. I hope I can figure it out. I do know that we all need to be the reason that other peoples' levels are raised and not drained.

I hope my kind words about Dr. Mandy help raise her levels! :) Just let me know if I can help you raise yours. I know, for an absoulte fact, there is a list of great things in everyone.

Autumn 2014. Grapes and Apples. Balance.

"Autumn, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness." - Keats

Wow! Time really flies in the summer when time gets marked by the growin' of a garden. Time can be marked by the veggies bloomin', fruitin' and harvestin' but also by the harvest moon of September. The longer summer hours whizzzzz by like there is no tomorrow but the slower, quieter months of winter, well those hours linger longer than they really need to in my book.

Fog rollin' in on a summer mornin'

Fall brings the earth into balance one could say. Today the day hours are the same length as the night hours. Could they just stay that way until the Spring Equinox? Please! From here on out its a slippery slope into darkness. We live far enough North that the days will get to be dark by 4 and the morning sun will rise about 9. I will never move anywhere more North then this. Forget it!

So if this is the season of balance maybe that is why so much of my focus during the months of October and November are wrapped up in settin' goals for the next year, findin' a little bit more silence and searchin' for a little bit more family time. This year has been a great year and probably the first year I can officially say that I can make a list of the inner harvest things: ideas that were seeded, a garden that was planted, and a journal full of fruitful entries that will be great to look through over the next few years. This has been a year of gratitude, of growth and of change.

Nothin' but the best clippin's for the boys!

The one thing that bothers me the most about fall is the movin' back inside to stay warm, I fight the urge to turn the heat on as long as possible, but I will admit that bringin' out the blankets and snugglin' on the couch is a great way to spend an afternoon with the black boys! I don't like that the lawn furniture gets stored away or that the fire pit gets turned upside down when the snow starts to fall but then again I can finally get to those quiltin' projects that I have neglected for far too long.

Today, the first day of autumn 2014, brought a short but distinguished list of things to wrap up on my desk before I could go play.

Emails got read. Check.

A letter of reference got written. Check.

A blog post finally got written. Check.

Making a garden list of fall projects. Check.

Caught up with a good friend about her decision of gettin' married in a graveyard. Check.

Discussed picture takin', listened to a freak out from the drama king about said pictures. Ugh. Check.

The most fun was really spent in the pourin' down rain pickin' grapes and apples. Residential Foragin' thats what I am calling it now. This summer through mutual friends and through workin' projects we stumbled across a neglected grape vine that was burstin' with fruit. The vine has been tangled around a front porch arbor and a Japanese Maple of a wooded house for as long as I have lived on this rock. The current owners have no need for the luciousness that drip from the vines ... so they allowed us to forage. A trade you could say.

Todays residential foragin' finds.

Not only did we find gobs of grapes but we rounded up the apples that had dropped from the one tree so that I could finish up the applesauce.

Apples.

The only really big thing that I could use to hold the load of grapes was my work bucket. A very large blue plastic bucket that has seen better days but has been put to use packin' plants, rocks, soil, mulch, logs, extra veggie and fruit loot and so on from anywhere I could when the gettin' was good. Today it was proud to bring home the little round green packages of sugar! Pure sweet grapes that melt in your mouth ... they are that sweet.

Grapes.

This past weekend we borrowed a sugar reader thingy-majig from the local winery and tested the sugar content. The master wine maker said that the grapes were ideal around the 17 mark and that it was unheard of to get 19 or even to a 20. Not understanding what that all meant until I had my eye glued to the little scope and could see the colors changin' and the readin' go up did it all make sense. We tested a few and were pretty excited about the levels that we were findin'. 17 on one grape. 18 on another and then 20!!

Hot damn! We got a 20!!

Thought 20 was unheard of?! 

Oh well. I didn't question. I was thrilled.

Really what else do you do with grapes in mass quantity such as this? Yes, you could sit around and eat them but since I have been banned from drinkin' mass bottled wines due to the sulfites that I am allergic to, we have a plan.

We are ready to make our own wine!!

This just might save Autumn's ass.

We hit up Amazon for the wine makin' kit and it has been sittin' on the top of the shelf just waitin' for the right time. The time has arrived! Going back for a moment though, can you all remember the "I Love Lucy Show" when Lucy and Ethel were at the winery and they were stompin' the grapes? That image as been stuck in my brain since we read the sugar levels last weekend.

Who would be my Ethel?

What fun we will have stompin', crushin' and drinkin' up the wine when it is ready!!

Maybe, just maybe it is time to rethink the celebration of Saturnalia this year! Our wine will be ready in three months time and it looks like December 17th through the 23rd would be the perfect time to break open a bottle and celebrate the returnin' of the sun with mass candles lit, the birth of the Son and our quest for knowledge and truth and the middle of the holiday season! Now this winter thing is looking a little more invitin'.