colors of my day: 4.13.2013.

colors of my day. 4.29.2012.

a bouquet for stone soup.  

oh, iris love after a rain. 

stone soup.  made in our church for freedom house.

tilling.  creating new space from the old for smaller raised beds. 

the best thank you note.  the. best. 

in the kitchen: good food is best shared.

truly, good food is best shared in good company.  

in the kitchen: good eats.

making gumbo! 

a meal shared with a friend: my first brussell sprouts, gumbo, and fresh pear.

a fresh loaf.  bake and take day!

pink lady apple gallette.  bake and take day.

love gorp.  a delicious treat to share with my love! 

colors of my day. 2.15.2012.

kefir grains strained. kefir ready for drinking!

veggies for chopping.

ingredients for banana espresso muffins.

 

menu making from one of my favorite cookbook authors heidi swanson. 

making good food for my creative clergy group meeting the following day.

mindful mornings. today's pace.

one of my favorite spots in the kitchen is my kitchen window.  i've crafted it to be an altar in the world.  an altar in my world.  it's filled with bits and pieces from my days.  broken robin egg shells from walks in my neighborhood, an opened seed pod from the back garden, found bird feathers, an intention/prayer candle, a mindfulness jar, green plants, and wisdom's reminders.

there's nothing particularly special about this space and everything special about it all at once.  it's crafted as bits and pieces are added.  from time to time it's cleaned. i remove everything and return it to its place.

there's a rhythm to that process of removing everything and returning it to its place that's taken shape in the rhythms of my day.  as my mornings shift from being a one-car family for a couple of weeks to a two-car family again, what has been removed from daily routines is now being returned.  i love that gentle nudge that comes when you've held onto an object, a thought, a routine that once it's out of sight & mind for a bit, you can let it go.  that nudge welcomes the release and you know you made a good choice to clean house.  then you sweep it away without regret.

of course the imagery of removing everything and returning it to its place spills into our daily routines and rituals, into our relationships, and into our habits.

this time of the year seems to me the most busy for the boards i serve.  orientations, trainings, art auctions, fundraisers.  oh, my.  it's enough to keep your head spinning.  i wonder: are we creating those nurturing spaces for growth as we keep our selves busy, busy?  my productive time in this season is spent nurturing individual relationships, stitching and piecing stories and quilts, clicking two needles together to knit, listening to the sound of my shoes as i crunch along on morning frost.  i retreat inward at the same time, listening to the practices and rhythms that i have developed to see what needs release before moving into the spring.

honoring this time.  offering myself the time and space to create.  living each day while looking forward to what beautiful days await.  leaning into the sadness of illness, death, and loss.  oh, what a mixture.  life.

today is a day to create.  i am creating a new rhythm for this day, picking up around this cozy home, and eventually getting into the studio to make things and set the table for tomororw's creative clergy.

what do you create today in your experience of living?  

colors of my day: 2.14.2012.

a valentine from my dear spenge!  

our buddy's new boots!  his little brother has a pair to match, too! 

a new bloom for this day.

making our evening meal.  

oh. yes.  yes.  yes.

colors of my day: 2.9.2012.

flowers in the studio.

a floating bloom.

lunch!  spinach, feta, pine nuts, blueberries.  white balsamic & evoo.  

almonds, sesame crunchies, and seed crackers on the side. 

oh, the smell of these lilies is amazing.

pizza.  shared.  

colors of my day. 2.5.2012

feeling a little spunky tonight.  saying hello from the kitchen. 

a happy, spunky hello! 

lighting a candle for evening prayers. 

sending love and light.

shaking the mindfulness jar.  thankful for spenge for so many reasons. thank you, spenge, for showing me your jar in your kitchen window.  jo's beautiful green has glitter to match!  spenge linked to chasing the firefly for instructions.  my sweet boy had made a color experiment using watercolors+water ((i think)) and we added glitter + a little mrs. meyers dish soap per spenge's suggestion.  the mindfulness jar works quite well with its sparkly goodness.  we'll have these as make-and-take party favors for jo's 6th birthday this year.

speaking wisdom.  truly. this practice is so i can listen to wisdom.  so many times last year i became aware of those moments of knowing wisdom had spoken and i didn't listen.  i was close and knew i should listen, but i moved quickly past her voice.  i decided to listen.  to really listen.  and here we are.  

life stories: images from my day.

african violets over 7 years old welcoming the morning light.

noticing my altar in the kitchen window.  

((noticing a little something my love placed there. love.))

sitting still.  rooted in this spot.  

mindful of the space of this mat and the practice of awareness.

saying "why, hello there."  loving my self.  

sharing that love with you.

holding sacred threads in the light.  

cutting into them, creating something new.

in the kitchen: the food of one day.

i love, love making gumbo.  i have everything except celery betwen our garden & our fertile crescent farm CSA.  i love the chopping, the making of the roux, and the steps between.  you'll also see the beginning of a tomato sauce, which i pulled tomatoes from for the gumbo before adding the fresh herbs & simmering for hours. 

smells from our kitchen delighted the senses, adding to the joy of living & eating well this day.  

in the kitchen: making plum jam.

we love our plum tree for many reasons.  

of course: plums, plums, & more plums.  

our tree has shown us the meaning of abundance.  

preparing the plums you see their beautiful natural color.

making the jam using natural cane sugar & pectin.  oh, my.

plum jam in the morning light.  this was a double-batch, 

one of four ((and more to come)). 

though, my favorite comes only for a short time.

green plums with sea salt.  i think i'll have one now.  

pure delight!