Category Archives: All Posts

From Seed to Harvest | The Essential and Humble Beet

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Have you ever grown beets? They’re humble and rustic, sweet and solid, packed full of heart healthy nutrition, even the leaves.

Beets are full of antioxidants that fight cell damage and reduce the risk of heart disease. They’re one of the few vegetables that contain betalains, a powerful antioxidant that gives beets their vibrant color. Betalains reduce inflammation and may help protect against cancer and other diseases.

No part of this beauty is wasted, whether it’s cooked or shaved raw in a salad.

My mom used to make borscht, a Ukrainian cold beet soup, because my dad loved it, but I thought it looked and tasted disgusting, especially since she topped it with a dollop of sour cream.

I now think that I might have been mistaken about my revulsion for borscht, well maybe…except for the sour cream, which I still don’t like.

I’ll scrub and slice the beets, then steam them with the leaves just until tender, to enjoy eating unadorned just like they are, fresh and wholesome. YUM!

Purple + White

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Doomed to live and die on the same day, the morning glory is a symbol of resilience and rebirth.

This enchanted morning glory is thriving near a bunch of Natal plum bushes and their fragrant white five-petaled flowers.

The Natal plum is a tropical shrub grown mostly as a flowering landscape specimen, but also known for its small fruits which taste like cranberries and are used in jams and jellies.

Once upon a time when I was in high school, I picked a bushel of the fruits from an empty field and made the most delicious jam but the thorns on the plant almost tore my arms up so I’ve never done it again.

This is a Blue Potato Bush: The flowers are gorgeous but all parts of this part are toxic!

The sweetly scented flowers of Lycianthes rantonnetii, also known as Solanum rantonnetii, blue potato bush, and Paraguay nightshade, grows near a fence in the garden. I cut it back every year which it seems to love because it returns full of flowers that attract bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators.

Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day

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This year, October 9 is known as Columbus Day. Some states have proposed legislation to legally replace it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, as of today, none have passed.

I don’t acknowledge Columbus Day because it’s more of the same; entitled males making unilateral decisions without regard for anything but their own selfishness.

Columbus Day has since come under fire as a celebration of a man whose arrival in the Americas heralded the oppression of another group of people: Native Americans. 

Indigenous Peoples’ Day honors the truth about the American soil on which we live. It serves as a counter-celebration to Columbus Day by recognizing the perseverance and contributions of Indigenous people across the United States.

Even the Angel Kids know what this day really is all about, and good for my son/DIL talking TRUTH to the next generation.

happy indigenous people day meme - - Yahoo Image Search Results

From President Joe Biden:

A Proclamation on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, 2023

  On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor the perseverance and courage of Indigenous peoples, show our gratitude for the myriad contributions they have made to our world, and renew our commitment to respect Tribal sovereignty and self-determination. 

     The story of America’s Indigenous peoples is a story of their resilience and survival; of their persistent commitment to their right to self-governance; and of their determination to preserve cultures, identities, and ways of life.  Long before European explorers sailed to this continent, Native American and Alaska Native Nations made this land their home, some for thousands of years before the United States was founded.  They built many Nations that created powerful, prosperous, and diverse cultures, and they developed knowledge and practices that still benefit us today.

     But throughout our Nation’s history, Indigenous peoples have faced violence and devastation that has tested their limits.  For generations, it was the shameful policy of our Nation to remove Indigenous peoples from their homelands; force them to assimilate; and ban them from speaking their own languages, passing down ancient traditions, and performing sacred ceremonies.  Countless lives were lost, precious lands were taken, and their way of life was forever changed.  In spite of unimaginable loss and seemingly insurmountable odds, Indigenous peoples have persisted.  They survived.  And they continue to be an integral part of the fabric of the United States.
Read the rest of it here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/06/a-proclamation-on-indigenous-peoples-day-2023/

Hello Kitty Sunset 🎀 | Pink Pink Pink

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Or cotton candy pink. A trivial confession about me…I’ve never actually eaten cotton candy. I’ve seen it made at the fair but I never had any desire to taste it. I do love Hello Kitty, though, and she speaks to me:

“Once upon a time, there was a princess.” — Hello Kitty

Last night’s sunset was breathtaking to experience. The sky colors were pure Hello Kitty pink.

I didn’t make it to the beach in time to see the full sunset drop into the horizon, but I went outside in the garden to appreciate all of the resplendent Hello Kitty pink gloriousness.

Searching

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“I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.” — Emily Dickinson

Curated from Pinterest. Unknown. Credit to the artist.

Virtue Signaling

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Virtue signaling: a public expression of opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or social conscience or the moral correctness of one’s position on a particular issue.

Take note of how often virtue signaling consists of saying one “hates” things.

It’s another way to convey that someone feels superior to another.

I recently experienced being victimized by virtue signaling, which I feel is REALLY annoying.

Here’s the story:

I attended an event and a couple of women and I were chatting well after it was over. We decided to get together the following week for coffee/tea and continue the conversation since it seemed as if we had common interests.

When we met, we started talking about all the usual things: our personal histories, our children, education, and what we like to do for fun.

When it was my turn to share, I mentioned how much I love to shop. For me, shopping is truly therapeutic. I don’t necessarily mean I have to spend money to reap the benefits; I enjoy looking at pretty things whether it’s for me, for someone else, or finding special presents for the Angel Kids.

And it’s the truth. While I love to garden and bake (for the kids) and a (sometime) community activist, going to stores brings joy.

Well…my innocent confession set off a chain of negative comments…”I hate shopping.” “I never shop if I can help it.” “Shopping is a waste of time.” “I wear my clothes until they’re worn out like rags.”

Virtue signaling 101.

“Shopping is buying into the patriarchy.” OKAY, they didn’t actually go that far, but the spewing of hatred for my pastime wasn’t very nice at all. I felt personally attacked.

What I detected by those comments was their close-minded conspicuous, self-righteous, lofty, superior moral viewpoint with the intent of communicating their BETTER-than-me attitude.

The subtext was that I was a frivolous naive one-dimensional superficial fairy-like creature who doesn’t dwell nearly enough on the somber, grim, seriousness of life. Like they do.

To look down on someone with disdain and contempt for sharing what they do as a leisure activity or distraction is judgmental and close-minded.

I didn’t ridicule THEM for NOT liking retail therapy, although the snarky side of me privately thought that they could both benefit from some (teehee).

I have found this experience to be something I’ve endured several times in my life, and recently. It’s like a moral badge of righteousness for some women to declare how much they hate shopping. “I don’t shop.” “I don’t care what I wear.”

Well, I DO. I love treasures and bargains as much as l love to look at Gucci handbags and Chanel jewelry, not with envy and longing, but with appreciation for the beauty of the craft.

The lesson I learned that day was that I didn’t really have anything in common with mean-spirited people, so they won’t be my new BFFs and I won’t be joining them again for coffee. That wasn’t the only personality difference, though. They had detached parenting styles while mine is more drone-like and very much attached. Their own parents weren’t like mine; they both had complicated and angry issues with their mothers and lots of complaints. I couldn’t relate as mine has been dead for a long time but I miss her every day.

Rant over. I’m going shopping now.

Day Moon Portfolio

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I think today is a day I should try to not further agitate the cosmos and the gods.

I had an appointment for yearly lab work so I fasted from about 7pm last night with ZERO coffee this morning. I don’t mind not eating, but I NEED coffee to start my day.

I arrived at the office on time only to discover that I had misread the doctor’s orders and needed the labwork completed NEXT week, not today.

Not today. My coffee-deprived brain had a difficult time comprehending, as I don’t usually make dumb mistakes like that, but when the technician explained it to me, I realize it was entirely my fault which wasn’t a big deal, but sometimes the little screw-ups hit different, you know what I mean?

It tilted my reality for a minute or two until I regained my mental equilibrium. I drove all the way back home, inhaled some French roast, and looked outside to discover the most beautiful day moon staring back at me, possibly to let me know that it was confused, too,

I love day moons because they make absolutely no sense to me, but I’m over the moon (haha) with these photos because I was unable to see the full moon a couple days ago due to overcast skies at night.

Day moons are cool.

October Fevers and Aussie Binges

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“Whence October is upon us, There shall be magic in the air, why it shall be everywhere. All ye leaves shall fall as Autumn does call. And as the faery folk are now gathering up and foraging, tonight I shall be leaving them a wee offering. Why, I shall leave them a few freshly hand picked Bramble berries & a wee tipple of Whiskey, Oh why how merry they shall surely be.” –Athey Thompson

First I’m hot and then I’m freezing. I confess that I’m having a hard time locating the magic in October. Not yet.

Because I wasn’t very smart last year and didn’t get a pneumonia vaccination, I ended up really sick with the most horrible case of double (bi-lateral) pneumonia, so bad that but for the fact that I’m incredibly stubborn, I would have been hospitalized,

THIS time I got the vaccination, reluctantly, because I always endure side effects for about thirty-six hours: headache, chills, fever. Most people only experience a sore arm but my immune system likes to give me a more ambitious taste of reality.

That’s why I’m now wrapped up in a blanket on the sofa, drinking ginger tea and binge-watching my new obsession, Blue Heelers, an Australian TV show from the 90s about the daily lives of Victorian police officers working at a police station in the fictional small town of Mount Thomas.

I think I’ve pretty much exhausted all the available British shows, so I had to search in a completely different hemisphere. Yes, it’s outdated with the gigantic brick-like cell phones, floppy disks, and scrunchies, but I’m learning a lot of new words like “mozzy” for mosquito, “esky” for Eskimo cooler, “slab” for six-pack of beer, “good on ya” and “you beauty“. I had to look up “it’s my shout, mate” to learn it means whoever said it will pay for the next round of drinks.

Previously my DIL and I loved A Place To Call Home, Rake, The Newsreader, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, and of course, Bluey.

I’m bracing for more vaccinations next week because it’s better to have a robustly active immune than the alternative. The first Covid vaccine sent me immediately to urgent care with an allergic reaction (read about that here) but the rest of them have been well tolerated except for the thirty-six hours of subsequent hell.

Anyway, happy October and stay healthy!

Satori: Word of the Day

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In Zen Buddhism, satori defines the inner, intuitive experience of enlightenment, perhaps similar to having an epiphany.

Satori is said to be unexplainable, indescribable, and unintelligible by reason and logic.

It is comparable to the experience undergone by Gautama Buddha when he sat under the Bo tree and is the central Zen goal.

It’s a moment of total presence, of no mind and no thought but a flash of insight and awakening of the light of our own consciousness.

I also discovered that in Japanese folklore, Satori are mind-reading monkey-like monsters said to dwell within the mountains of Hida and Mino. That sounds pretty scary to me, so I’ll stick to the other definition of satori as instant enlightenment.

Have you experienced satori?

“Satori is the sudden flashing into consciousness of a new truth hitherto undreamed of. It is a sort of mental catastrophe taking place all at once, after much piling up of matters intellectual and demonstrative. The piling has reached a limit of stability and the whole edifice has come tumbling to the ground, when, behold, a new heaven is open to full survey.”

D.t. Suzuki, An Introduction to zen Buddhism

Reading is EVERYTHING

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“A child who reads will be an adult who thinks.” Unknown

I always have a book with me, my son always has books with him, and I always have books in the car.

Any time I hear, “I’m bored”, my response is “go read a book.” I said this even before he could actually READ, to encourage the good habit.

Later, I’d tell him to pick out all the sight words he’s learned; it, he, she, the, but…and then we built on those skills by sounding out other words phonetically.

I love functional reading too, and often pretend (lie) that I don’t have my glasses on so I can’t see a recipe or directions and ask him to help me out. He takes the bait every single time and that makes me very happy. To be completely accurate, almost every time. There is that one time he brought my reading glasses to me and that kinda sorta called my bluff, but I simply thanked him for finding them and found a better hiding place next time.

Even his Pokemon cards spark reading skills. “I can read this, Grandma” and I honestly didn’t believe him (there were some big words). Of course I didn’t reveal my skepticism and when he read the back of the cards, truly read them, I gave him a giant hug.

Recently, driving home from the airport with everyone in the car, we heard Angel Boy’s voice in the back seat. He had picked up one of the books I leave on the seat and was reading to his sister.

We all looked at each other in wonderment because this hadn’t happened before. Angel Girl was intently listening to the story and we were speechless with the joy of it, as we’re all big readers who know the importance of learning to read.

When the book was finished, we praised his ability and kindness toward his sister, who asked for the story to be read to her again. And he did. It was a win-win for both of them. And us.

Reading is everything.

“Reading is the gateway for children that makes all other learning possible.” – Barack Obama