Solstice sigh

Popping in to wish everyone a Winter Solstice full of light and wonder.  In the midst of the chaotic energy of the season, moments like the above have been restorative and nourishing.

Peace and joy.

Whole30 :: Day 15

Halfway is feeling anti-climactic.  Just a little bit.  And that is due to dashed expectations.  I strive to keep expectations to a minimum.  It took awhile, but a good thing I have learned over the years is to discern the difference between deeply felt anticipation (which I cannot control, it's in my nature) and deeply held expectation (which I can control, it's in my mind).

I am not bouncing around like the energizer bunny.  My body has not shed gonzo pounds as it has during past Whole30/Dragon Ways (I am not stepping on the scale, but I can tell).

But, I am calmer, sleeping better, thinking more clearly, connecting more presently.  I can feel my body has more room to breathe.  Which, not surprisingly, feels Sofa King good.

Look at what Jamie sent me...a manatea infuser!  It was a lovely end note to a day tinged with blue.

We took another walk around the block last night, this, too, a mood booster.  The weather has been so gentle and summery.  Really, really nice.

Sag and I have been enjoying the sugar plums that came from the orchard.  Natural gems, I tell you, they are so delicious, so fragrant, so pleasing to the eye and palate.

We received our first tomatoes of the season and this beauty did not disappoint.

My lunch plate called for more vinaigrette!  I love having a go to vinaigrette: Dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder, ume plum vinegar and olive oil.  It takes no time to whisk up.  Yum.

Gem broke our bathroom sink glass (a gift from Cara long, long ago).  "I am really not having a good day," the poor boy said.  I peeked into the kitchen cupboard to see what we might have...and found this ceramic cup that Elizabeth made long, long ago.  It is beautiful and perfect.  Hoping to use it for more and more years to come!

Peace and love.

Where I be

Wow.  I feel so inconsequential and overwhelmed and untethered...whispering like a mantra "something has to give, something has to give".  Feeling like I have to give.

I am pretty happy, though, where for years this kind of chaotic state would make me miserable.  I am doing one thing at a time, trying not to think too much about things.  Winging it.  By the seat of my pants.

At moments feeling frozen at the intersection of my temperament and the season as they rage and whorl.

PMS is challenging me a bit at the moment.

I have two new favorite songs right now and the album that contains one is on sale at Amazon for $5 (mp3 download).  (The Carpenter by The Avett Brothers.)


Here are some shots from our road trip.  We had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends in Massachusetts.  There's a lot of love and joy and bittersweet there.

Peace and love.

Winter textures

I love winter.  From this morning's park outing:

I am keeping this short and sweet.  We are unexpectedly not at gymnastics because Gem's up and down cold is down today.  I want to get some reading in because my hankering for Drift is, also unexpectedly, being sated much quicker than I thought, by the library.

Peace and love.

And a week begins

Had a rejuvenating outing with Cap yesterday.  We lunched at Terra (Niçoise Salad, hold the cheese, and a double espresso, yum) and then saw a production about the life and art of Clementine Hunter up at the university.  The performance moved me to tears a number of times...I felt resuscitated.  (That's Toshi Reagon.  Her and her mom worked on the music side of the show.)  We were in the front row and I got to shake her hand and thank her afterward...yay!

My Super Bowl nosh.  Pastured eggs sunny side up and the last of the roasted plum tomatoes.  The game was engaging enough that I opted to keep watching rather than switch over to Downton Abbey.

I kept it slow and simple this morning and caramelized an onion and a bunch of mushrooms in ghee...with a dash of spilled thyme.

I meant to take a purtier picture...after all the pot roast making for sick friends last week, I thought I'd make one for ourselves this week.  Gem put together the spice rub this morning (where spilled thyme was involved) and it looked really nice in the tiny bowl.  Here's the roast post-massage seasoning in the fridge.  Will toss it in the cast iron Dutch oven in the morning.

 

I've been meaning to take a pic of the fridge for awhile.  It has been looking so nice!  With the organized meal planning and food shopping happening weekly (not perfect, but definitely an improvement), the fridge is staying more organized and light.  It used to be so jammed with stuff that you could never see the light.  Also, things would get "lost" from getting shoved in the back and/or simply forgotten about.  We are still not eating everything we make in time, but food loss has become impressively minimal in a short amount of time.  I am getting a clearer idea on how to plan/cook to shrink waste even more.

By the time I was ready to fix my own breakfast, the kids were ready for a snack.  Smoothies, coming right up!  (Almond milk, banana, frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, maple syrup, almond butter, and hemp protein powder .)  I nursed my caffè Americano and munched on a banana coconut cookie.

Then, breakfast.  Pastured eggs scrambled with caramelized onions and mushrooms.  With a sprinkle of truffle salt.  Which, frankly, got lost in the meaty mushroom flavor.  I am learning, joyfully, what truffle salt matches well with.  So far, I like it best on my fingertips.

Gem and I drove over to the park and took a morning walk.  It was cold and lovely.  We saw crows, a lone jogger, and chatted with two dogs and their mom.  And we talked about Pokemon.

Lunch was, as is so often the case, something different for each of us.  As much as I'd love to conserve time and energy and nudge more communality via commonality by all of us partaking of one dish, it's what works right now.  I defrosted the leftover half of a butternut squash stuffed with ground turkey and enjoyed 1/3 of it.  The orange color made me especially happy.

Checking math work, washing items piled in the sink, monitoring tooth brushing (someone's teeth have been looking a bit sad lately), working out the logistics of a playdate with friends who have a packed schedule, doing calendars with Cap, getting up-to-date with itemizing spending from the last few days, figuring out how to upload a video from my phone to YouTube...oh my, it all takes time.

I want to read my book, it's so good, but there is laundry to be folded, Qigong to be practiced, and decluttering/organizing to be done.  And it's 4:30!  (At least I finally got my blogging in.)

Peace and love.

P.S.  The video is for a really cool blog Lana started.  Check it out and post bits of your day...or check out my submission, Creaky Branch.