Did everyone survive 11/11? Are we all freshly intentioned, manifested, and affirmed? I hope so.
I don’t know if I can blame planetary energies or if I must simply and honestly accept full responsibility for the calamity that unfolded for ME yesterday. After watching a few DIY haircutting videos, I THOUGHT it looked easy enough to try a “wolf cut” hairstyle. It’s a cut that works great on curly hair. However easy the videos made it seem, it was for me completely deceptive.
I’m NOT posting any pics, but you can believe me when I say that it was a disaster. I was lucky enough to schedule an emergency appointment with my hair stylist next week, and have total faith in her ability to repair the damage, even as she’s shaking her head while examining my failed attempt.
Today I’m keeping myself far, far away from the temptation to chop off more hair. Since we might actually get rained on in the next few days, I fertilized the lawn and raked up some of the leaves from the mulberry tree. They’re continuing to change color, dry up, and fall to the ground.
As above…
So below…
I love the sound and feel of crunchy leaves, don’t you?
I think I was inspired by my garden beets to revisit the addition of fresh veggie juices to my diet, as a liver detox cleanse and all around desire to only bring good things into my body.
Not too much prep; it’s easy!
I used beets, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, ginger water (previously prepared*), celery, an apple, a little broccoli, and some garden kale/chard.
This time I didn’t use a juicer, I cut the veggies into smaller pieces to make it easy for the blender along with 32 ounces of water and zapped the life out of them.
What I got was more actual nutrition than a juicer because I strained it and added the small amount of leftover pulp to a pot of veggie soup I was cooking. It would be equally beneficial to add to the mix for veggie burgers.
It was absolutely delicious.I added an extra shot of ginger water because I love the spiciness. I’m out of lemons or that would have been an awesome flavor, too.
Why cilantro, you might ask? Cilantro is a powerful antioxidant and has been used to remedy a variety of liver and pancreas problems. Some people love it, some don’t.
Drink this juice to help cleanse your liver. I’m not aware of any specific issues with my own liver but I simply wanted to give it a little TLC, and if it energizes my metabolism to lose a couple pounds, I’d be ecstatic.
Our liver is not the loudest of organs as it’s not quick to show visible symptoms when something is wrong. It’s actually a multi-tasking hero that often doesn’t get enough credit. Our liver supports digestion, metabolism, detoxification, blood and hormone regulation, the immune system, and more and we mostly ignore it — or abuse it with alcohol and fatty fried foods, and MEAT.
I’ve been drinking this concoction for a few days — not a fast, although it would be great for that, too. Simply knowing I’m helping this hardworking part of my body makes me feel like I’m doing a lot of necessary self-care and preventative maintenance, like changing the oil on your car, which I confess I NEVER do.( Uh oh.)
Love your liver!
Recipe by Enchanted Seashells
*To make ginger water: Take a decent sized piece of ginger, scrape the skin, slice into rounds. Toss in a pot of filtered water to heat until simmering. Cook for fifteen or so minutes, let cool, and store in a glass jar in refrigerator. I add it to smoothies, juices, and tea.
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!
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.
“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.
Tomorrow, September 29, the full Moon will also be a Supermoon because it’s at the nearest point in its orbit of Earth during the full Moon.
Known as the Harvest Moon, it will also be the year’s fourth and final Supermoon.
If your skies are clear and you can see the moon appear on the eastern horizon, you might notice that it’s orange, which is due to Rayleigh scattering, the deflection of light off molecules of nitrogen and oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Harvest moon will be radiating with gratitude, a perfect time to take a few minutes to acknowledge, appreciate, celebrate, and manifest positivity, joy, and abundance.
I took this a couple years ago in early October. I have no idea how I got such an amazing photo, but it’s one of my favorites. I’ll try again tomorrow but I think it might be too cloudy…
"Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday, I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, and the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Thus if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right."~Søren Kierkegaard
It seems as if I’ve see HOKA shoes everywhere. Do you know the brand or what HOKA means? HOKA is a verb meaning to soar or to fly.
I’ve worn mostly all the brands, but never HOKA. Well, never before yesterday, that is. I’m like Cinderella with shoes; they have to fit perfectly or I reject them.
I went to a local athletic shoe store and tried on a mountain of different brands and styles, resisting the HOKA for no real reason, I guess.
I was feeling dejected and a little embarrassed about the wasteland of boxes around me when the really nice and exceedingly patient employee suggested I try HOKA. “Just try them.” he said.
At first I demurred and then I acquiesced because I had literally exhausted their entire stock. When I slipped them on, it was as if my Prince Charming was sure to magically appear because they fit like a glove, so comfortable that I didn’t want to take them off. Now I understand why I’ve seen so many people wearing them.
I was drawn to the rose gold with black which is a change for me as I usually pick the brightest colors in the shoe palette.
(I guess this is a kind of review, but solely from my own experience because I didn’t get them for free or any other form of compensation.)
Even with a torn meniscus and all the other broken stuff in my knee, I will continue to perambulate, to move my body — because like Kierkegaard said, “if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.”
Or, as I like to say, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Anyway, that’s MY philosophy.
Glimmers are small moments that spark joy or peace, which can help cue our nervous system to feel safe or calm. I’ve become fascinated with finding, paying attention to, and appreciating these small joys.
We all know what triggers are…those sensory reminders that cause painful memories or certain symptoms to resurface. If you experienced a traumatic event, you most likely remember certain sounds, smells, or sights related to that experience. but few people know about their opposite: glimmers.
Experts say this mindset shift can make a positive impact on our mental health. The term was first coined by Deb Dana, a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in complex trauma.
In her 2018 book, The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, “glimmers” refers to small moments when our biology is in a place of connection or regulation, which cues our nervous system to feel safe or calm.
This isn’t about big, expansive experiences of joy or safety or connection. These are micro moments that begin to shape our system in very gentle ways.
🌟 Being in nature 🌟 Wrapping our bodies in a big blanket 🌟 Interaction with our furbabies 🌟 Gardening 🌟 Freshly baked bread 🌟 Sharing a smile with a stranger 🌟 Hearing your favorite song
Here are just a few of my small and simple joys:
🌠 The sound of two little voices calling “Grandmagrandmagrandma!” 🌠 Hearing a hawk or coyote 🌠 Finding a hawk or owl feather 🌠 My crow family 🌠 Noticing a beautiful flower or moon or sunset or sunrise 🌠 Smelling the ocean or coffee brewing first thing in the morning 🌠 My garden 🌠 Butterflies 🌠 Wind through the trees 🌠 Of course seashells, rocks, and beach glass!
There’s a ball of light close to the sea on a calm clear night the waves move free what comes to mind is a lovely dream there’s joy to find in this timeless scene… Richie Cho
There are two full moons in August!
The Sturgeon Moon is August 1 and the second full super moon, also called a Blue Moon — will be August 30.
A Blue Moon is not actually blue but referred to as a second full moon in a calendar month, an occurrence that happens every two to three years.
This full moon is associated with the goddess Hecate, who is connected with the elements of the moon; waxing and waning, cycles, and transformation. It’s a time to contemplate our inner transformation and to embrace the power of the moon.
The second full moon presents a time to practice gratitude for what you have, where you’ve come from, and the nature all around you.
I hope we have clear skies so I can see at least one of these beauties!
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 