My son sent me this photo of a bald eagle from Whidbey Island. He said he looked up and there it was looking right at him!
Eagle Eyes
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2-22-22
Uh oh, another date shrouded in portals and meaning and manifesting. This time I didn’t have the dream/reality of someone/something knocking at my door, but it’s a magical, intentional time.
Today is the last time we’ll experience the numerological vibration of the “2” sequence in our lifetime as there won’t be another date with only 2’s in it for another 178 years.
This is an extremely rare day, as it is also the last time in our lifetime the same number will repeat 6 times on a date.
Whatever this day brings for you, I hope it’s awesome and if nothing else, remember to breathe!
More wisdom from Thich Nhat Hanh:
Breathe and you know that you are alive.
Breathe and you know that all is helping you.
Breathe and you know that you are the world.
Breathe and you know that the flower is breathing too.
Breathe for yourself and you breathe for the world.
Breathe in compassion and breathe out joy.
Breathe and be one with the air that you breathe.
Breathe and be one with the river that flows.
Breathe and be one with the earth you tread.
Breathe and be one with the fire that glows.
Breathe and you break the thought of birth and death.
Breathe and you see that impermanence is life.
Breathe for your joy to be steady and calm.
Breathe for your sorrow to flow away.
Breathe to renew every cell in your blood.
Breathe to renew the depths of consciousness.
Breathe and you dwell in the here and now.
Breathe and all you touch is new and real.
@thichnhathanhquotecollective
Time for a Confession
I need an intervention.
I’ve watched so many British TV shows that I called somebody a wanker (under my breath) and actually started to get in my car on the OTHER side.
Sometimes I use the word “whilst” and stop myself from adding a “u” to color, honor, favorite. I actually think they look better with the addition, but that’s a personal issue.
I think it all started years ago with Absolutely Fabulous and all the British baking shows, Downton of course, Broadchurch, Vera, Scott & Bailey, Call the Midwife, Endeavour, Sherlock, The Crown, Unforgotten, Grantchester, now All Creatures Great and Small…soooo many!
Honestly, I don’t watch a lot of American TV unless it’s reruns of The Nanny or Bewitched or Emergency and it’s turned me into a bloody fool, but I should stop whinging. I’m cheeky like that. No worries, it’s all brill.
My DIL thinks I’m so funny because she likes to watch American shows and I don’t think they are nearly as well acted or written. Oh, we love to watch trashy Dynasty, but that’s a one off for me.
One of my favorite sayings is “needs must”. I reckon those two words speak volumes.
Cheers! Off you go then.
Forsooth! Frivolous Forsythia
All of our crazy weather including half the rain we usually get made for an early spring. The fruit trees are flowering, the ash tree did its thing and is leafed out already, as well as the grapes.
Not at all native to this weird deserty, sometimes Mediterranean climate, I saw a forsythia bush and couldn’t walk away without bringing her home. I paid full price too, which should tell you how much I wanted it. Teehee.
When I was growing up back east, I knew spring had arrived when my mom took me violet hunting and the lillies of the valley popped up, An even more glorious sign were the budding forsythia and lilac bushes up against the French doors in the living room.
When the weather warmed up enough to open all the doors and windows, their fragrance was literally breathtaking.
I’ve tried to grow lilacs here and failed, so I don’t have the highest of hopes for this forsythia, but I will try my best.
Fingers crossed, everyone!
P.S. There’s a chance we’ll have rain this week and that’ll make all my plants (and me) happy.
The Scrub Jays are Back! Yay!
What an amazing Saturday!
I was out in the back garden, actually up on the hill, clearing out a ton of baby jade plants that had taken over and choked out some natives. It’s a BIG project because I have to haul them down the hill and they’re heavy.
It was so quiet that I could hear at least six different birds including a woodpecker and a couple hawks.
And then came the familiar squawk of one of my favorite friends, the scrub jay!
I usually have raw peanuts or almonds because they return every year with new babies, but I was all out of their treats. These birds are so smart, they’ve learned to eat out of my hand, which is an amazing connection.
Come back tomorrow, you guys! I’ll go to the grocery store.
They were right above me, but I only had my phone so these photos aren’t as great as the other one. Can you believe how blue that sky is? It’s totally untouched and unfiltered.
A tree fell over, most likely because my absent minded professor son planted it on a slope about fifteen years ago and didn’t realize how gigantic it would become. Now it blocks the path to the top of the hill and we have to walk over or under, or perch on it like the scrub jay!
Yes, it’s WILD up there, that’s why bobcats and coyotes and all sorts of creatures love to stop by.
All Creatures Great and Small
Are you watching this adorable show on PBS?
It was previously done back in the 70s as a BBC series and I watched it because I had read and loved the Herriot books, but this new series is far superior, in my opinion.
“James Herriot (1916–1995) was the pen name of James Alfred “Alf” Wight, an English veterinarian whose wrote about veterinary practice and country life. Many of Herriot’s works—including All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful–became international bestsellers.”
I saved some of his childrens’ books adored by the original Angel Boy and the Angels 2.0 appreciate them, too. Moses the Kitten and Only One Woof are such sweet stories.
Did you know that Diana Rigg, (yes, Emma Peel from The Avengers), played Mrs. Pumphrey before her death?
I could watch this proposal scene again and again; it’s one of the best five minutes of all time. This show is all around well cast, but the actors who play James Herriot and Helen Alderson are AMAZING.
Wait until the end. Pure love. It gets me every time.
Happiness is a Blooming Hedgehog Aloe and Stunning Ceanothus
The temps dropped nearly forty degrees and we were lucky enough to get some unexpected rain.
In the morning I was greeted by this flowering orange Hedgehog Aloe against a background of a very healthy ceanothus covered in lilac blooms.
Star of India Sails
Every so often the Star of India sails in San Diego Bay. I was clearing out some old photos and discovered this one from a few years ago. If you have seen this ship at all, it was probably lining the dock in downtown San Diego, but in case you didn’t know, this is the world’s oldest active sailing ship and still sails a few times a year with an all volunteer crew.
The Star of India was built on the Isle of Man in 1863. Iron ships were experimental at that time with most vessels still being built out of wood. Within five months of laying her keel, the ship was launched. She was originally named Euterpe after the Greek muse of music and poetry.
Euterpe was a full-rigged ship and would remain so until 1901, when the Alaska Packers Association rigged her down to a barque, her present rig.
She began her sailing life with two near-disastrous voyages to India. On her first trip she suffered a collision and a mutiny. On her second trip, a cyclone caught Euterpe in the Bay of Bengal, and with her topmasts cut away, she barely made port. Shortly afterward, her first captain died on board and was buried at sea.
After such a hard luck beginning, Euterpe made four more voyages to India as a cargo ship. In 1871 she was purchased by the Shaw Savill Line of London.
Subsequently sold to the Alaska Packer Fleet, her name was changed in 1906 to the Star of India to match the other vessels in their fleet. The Star of India made over 22 Alaskan voyages before becoming obsolete in the 1920s as steam power propulsion became more reliable than wind.
The Zoological Society of San Diego purchased the ship in 1926 for use as the centerpiece of a planned maritime museum and aquarium. The Great Depression in the 30s and World War II caused those plans to be put on hold and the Star of India lay idle until she was restored in the late 50s and early 60s.
Fully restored by 1976, the Star of India set sail as part of the United States’ Bicentennial celebration.
Interesting Facts:
- Launched five days before Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
- Sailed twenty-one times around the world
- Never fitted with auxiliary power
- Went aground in Hawaii
- Became an “American” ship by Act of Congress
- Trapped in ice in Alaska
| LOA | 212′ |
| Sparred Length | 280′ |
| Beam | 35′ |
| Maximum Draft | 21.5′ |
| Gross Tonnage | 1318 |
| Rig | Bark |
Happy Valentine’s Day | For Chocolate Lovers | Vegan Lentil Brownies
I’ve had a bit of success with Black Bean & Beet Brownies and Lentil Cookies but I’ve never tried simply Lentil Brownies, so I baked some this morning before it got too hot to have the oven on.
They look good, right? But the real question is how do they taste?
If you’ve ever had Black Bean Brownies, you might have detected a slightly weird beany texture, so I hoped this lentil version would eliminate that.
These brownies are TRULY surprisingly yummy! They’re very moist and chocolate-y. I can’t tell they contain lentils, which IS a wonderful source of protein, so this is also a healthy snack.
Tips:
1. Really cook the lentils until they’re mushy.
2. Refrigerate the pan for at least a couple hours after frosting before cutting and eating.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Word of the Day: Toska | Russian Despair
Russia is front and center in the news these days; I wish men all around the world would stop using violence and bullying to solve their personal issues.
Toska is a Russian word roughly translated as sadness, despair, melancholia, lugubriousness (lugubrious is one of my favorite words); also a dull ache of the the soul, a soul pining, spiritual anguish.
One of my grandfathers was born in Russia and maybe that’s why that emotion resonated with me.
According to Vladimir Nabokov ,“No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause.”
I wonder if it’s similar to anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure, a common symptom of depression.
I found a spa, restaurant, and other businesses named Toska and wonder if the owners realize that they branded their business with a word that translates to despair…not sure if that’s the message they wish to convey.
