Monday, 29 September 2014

What Can I Give?

                "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."~Mother Teresa~

If we REALLY believe we are ALL connected on this earth and ripples of kindness can touch the WHOLE world, then what is stopping us from giving even a little each day.

                                           




The other day when I was at our Super Store shopping, ALL by myself, a very rare occasion since Will was enjoying his first full day of kindergarten and the little girls were at preschool, I had an opportunity to help another person.

Our grocery store offers a weekly free product if you buy over a certain amount of groceries. This was not a big shop week for me but in front of me was a man about my age with a little toddler in his cart and a TON of groceries. I knew from experience that he was going to be WAY over the minimum amount for his free item but I didn't see the said item at the end of the conveyor belt.

                                            

The cashiers are told NOT to offer the free item unless the customer requests it, which kind of irks me, so when the cashier told him the total amount and the man was about to pay for his groceries, I piped up, "what's the free item this week if you spend over $250.00 dollars? The man looked at me and then the cashier, who looked sheepish and said, "oh, it's the FINISH dish washing detergent," but you have to have the item so I can run the code through.

The man shifted, looked at his toddler in the cart and I jumped in saying, "I'll go get it for you while you load your cart." I flew off in a flash, forgetting  since the twins were born that occasionally when I run, I sometimes have bladder issues. Thank heavens though, this time there was no unfortunate incidence...maybe doing a good deed helps the bladder. Anyway, I got back in no time and gave the product to the cashier who thanked me actually really nicely. The man thanked me NOT once but several times and I told him that, "hey, I'm a mom and you can't just leave your little one in the cart to run and get the free item."

As he was paying for his groceries and continuing to load his cart, he opened right up to me telling me he had just come home after being up north working for two weeks and they had nothing in the house. He said they probably could use the dish washing detergent and he hadn't even checked when he left the house. He further told me that he had 5 children and the little guy in the cart, his youngest, was stuck to him at the hip since he had arrived home. I had made a friend. It made me feel really great.

And that wasn't all, the older couple behind me were beaming at me when I returned with the item and the older man leaned in to me as I was paying for my groceries and said, "that was really nice of you."

NOW, I'm not trying to blow my own horn or anything but this incident just demonstrates how something so simple, as helping another person out really is, plus, I benefited, as I got a bit more exercise than I had planned. It was a WIN/WIN. We are all busy and get involved with our own dramas but if we can just take a moment to look into the next person's eyes and realize they are US. If we can offer them something to make their day easier, even if it's a smile or a compliment, (like the one the older gentleman gave ME) well don't you think at the end of the day the WHOLE WORLD would run smoother.

JUST THINK ABOUT IT!

And check out this video if you want to be inspired further. (If you are using an Apple product, you may not be able to view this YouTube video below, and if so, you can click on this link to see this inspiring message.)


Let's send a ripple of small things with great love into the world.

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

Sunday, 28 September 2014

Caesar Salad and Living Fully

      

What does a Caesar salad and living fully, have in common? Very little, unless you look at it from my perspective. A few events and experiences in the last week have inspired this blog post and finally this morning everything is formulating clearly in my mind.

If you aren't interested in the connection, then scroll down to find my easy and delicious Caesar salad recipe. If you have a cup of tea nearby AND the time to immerse yourself in one of my novellas, then I invite you to read on.

Our oldest son "Clark," which interestingly enough is old English and means scholar, likes to watch our National news whenever he emerges from his room. We usually only see Clark at meal time and on the rare occasion he wishes to be with his family, which is usually only at mealtime. Now, I don't want to give you the idea that Clark is anti social or anti- family. Far from it. After all he chose to stay home and attend our local University, even though he had been accepted at an excellent University a distance from our home.

Clark brought home dry ice from his day at the science centre


He can be quite an extrovert. He can talk to anyone about anything, anytime of the day.  For only being 21 he is quite accomplished, having achieved his second Dan black belt in Tae Kwon Do, became an accredited lifeguard, as well as excelling in playing violin and sax in our local youth symphony and jazz band. When he isn't studying Science at University, you can find him in our local gym lifting weights, creating music and playing games with friends or working at the Science Centre. He is known as the Science guy in the birthday party set, as he can make a mean cup of flubber and give you a wild ride on the gyro chair. When he does come home, he is pleasant, regales us with a few interesting tidbits from his day and then he heads to his room to recharge. I also think he squeezes out his sponge, so when he re-emerges he is capable of absorbing more knowledge.

When he does make that entrance, it usually coincides with opening the fridge and turning on the T.V. to our news station. I suppose this is one of his many sources for knowledge but personally, I find the news too disturbing. Terrorism, countries fighting and killing their neighbours, and even our  own federal government politicians squabbling like little children. It all seems to unnerve me and put a damper on my daily enthusiasm.

Clark appears to be unmoved by the events transpiring all over the world. He is able to watch with detachment but with interest as he forms his own ideas about the world he lives in and perhaps too, how he would like to help it evolve. His is the next generation to create change and if Clark is any indicator of how they will manage, it will certainly be with conscious intent. He lives fully in the moment and makes wherever he is a better place.

Another source of news comes from our local paper. The "Morning Star." It brings a piece of community into our homes and reminds us how closely we are all connected. Even though it's only a few dozen pages in length, at most, I usually don't have much time for this, published three times a week paper. Thankfully, while the little girls played, I took the time last Wednesday to flip through the pages as I would have missed out on something that has impacted me. Maybe this is how Clark views his obsession of watching the global news.

When I turned to the obituary section, I got hit in the gut with shock and sadness over seeing a friend's picture. I say friend, because whenever I saw " Erin," I always felt good. She was the best sort of friend. One who always makes you feel happy that you ran into her. I met her for the first time when her oldest child was in preschool with my 3rd oldest, Mitchell. She had a lovely laid back attitude and a quick, light laugh that filled the air with joy. I loved that she didn't bat an eye when her little daughter wore a tiara to preschool every single day throughout the year. I used to be more controlling and would have encouraged our child to leave the head piece at home, so when I asked her about it she said, something like, "well I'm going to let her be a princess for as long as she wants." I LOVED that about her. I aspire to be more like that.

Over the years, I would bump into Erin at our local music school, where we would discuss the benefits of music lessons and how to encourage practice without pushing our children. Then there were the times I saw her at soccer games, me yelling my head off but her with a relaxed, "whatever" attitude. She was always interested in our ever growing family and would always say, "I don't know how you do it!" Which made me feel stronger somehow and even though things may have been difficult the morning I saw her, after her comment, I would dig deeper and find the best of myself to mother our brood.

I haven't seen her in a number of years as although our children attended the same high school, once children become teens they aren't always accompanied by their parents. It wasn't until I was helping out at the grad decorating afternoon last June when I heard someone say, "did you hear about Erin?" And I said, "no, what are you talking about?" Over the years I have been so absorbed raising our family and have not kept my ear to the community gossip. I had heard our family was often the subject, with our larger size and us having children well into our 40's. I preferred to distance myself from people who were in the "know." But this had put me at a disadvantage as well, since I wasn't aware when someone was having a hard time.

I had no idea she had been battling brain cancer and was in the final days of her fight. Throughout Mitchell's graduation weekend, I kept thinking about Erin, her two children, her family and how they were doing. It impacted me. D said he saw her not looking so great at the grad picture gathering but I had missed her. Mitchell too had been affected by this news. He knew all about it of course because of social media/Facebook, but he hadn't ever said anything to me until I asked him about it. I know he was thinking in his teen terms something to the effect,"by the grace of God go I," in that his mother was physically well and his classmate, he had known since preschool, was losing her's.

Over the summer, I was on my guard every time I opened the paper wondering if this would be the day I would hear about Erin leaving the earth. The summer came and went and she presumably fought on. Then on September 18th, as we had just heard  the teacher's strike was over and our kids were going back to school, she lost her fight. She was going home. I was so sad when I saw her face on the obituary page. She shouldn't be there. Heck, we are almost the same age. Her youngest still hasn't even graduated from high school. Do you ever wonder about life? How things don't seem fair. Beautiful, kind, generous people, leaving the world while evil persists in all sorts of individuals.

Of course if you have read my blog, you know about my husbands co- worker, whose young teen son was killed in a boating accident this past June. And then, our oldest daughter's high school friend dying in May, from complications after a double lung transplant. She had fought CF with hope and optimism her whole life and would have turned 24 last June.

While all these events touched me, I was thinking, the one thing we have in common is that we are ALL going to die.  This used to be a joke in my husband's family since his Dad sold cemetary property and planned funerals. He used to say, "none of us get out of here alive." The other thing we have in common is we have a choice how we are going to live?

 

My 11 year old daughter Grace had a sleepover on Friday night. Early in the week she had come home from her first days at school a bit depressed since her good friend had moved to Alberta. When I suggested a back to school sleepover party on Friday night she perked right up. I knew she was excited about it because when I went into her room to collect the garbage from her wicker basket under her desk, I saw a piece of paper outlining fun ideas for her party. "Dinner, 2 hours at our local rec centre pool, movie/popcorn, games"...it just made me smile.

As I was thinking about my friend Erin letting her little girl be a princess when she was small, I thought about my Grace and how I wanted her to enjoy her princess years too. She is going to be leaving childhood pretty soon and becoming a teen and I wanted her to have some wonderful memories of this special time.
                                                      

I decided to make a homemade pizza, which is often our Friday night dinner anyway, and also make a caesar salad which is Grace's all time favourite. When I was at the grocery store though I forgot to pick up the dressing we usually purchase. The old me, would have called D to bring some home after work (using more gas to drive to the store) but the new me, trying to be frugal while being more sustainable, with a can do attitude, decided to make it from scratch. I Googled a bunch of recipes and came up with a creation for our evening's salad. It absolutely amazes me how empowered I feel when I don't need a product....cross out caesar dressing off my grocery list. I can now make it from SCRATCH.  I know weird but I get a great sense of satisfaction from little things in life, like THAT.

Grace and her friends, I was admiring all the girl's long hair and of course, I was seeing their invisible princess tiaras too.

The pizzas turned out delicious (cheese being the top choice for the girls but wow..the vegetarian I made was superb, if I do say so myself) and the salad was sensational. I made a large bowl but every last bit of romaine was eaten. A great sign of success! Especially among tweens, who don't always like their veggies. The sleepover was smashing too. The girls liked the dinner, the pool time, the movies, the popcorn/licorice. In morning, D got up early on Saturday to make them pancakes with fruit, syrup and whipped cream and I made them a fruit smoothie. One of the girls had to get up early to go to her gymnastics class and then she said her family were off for an afternoon hike at a mountain about a 2 hour drive from our hometown. This family is always living life with "gusto." They always are doing something physically challenging.



                                                        


The celebration of life service for my friend was later that afternoon. I didn't attend. I thought about it but then felt a better place for me to remember her was in my garden. So while D puttered around the garage, I mowed the lawn, cultivated around my still growing herbs and turned the contents in our compost bin. Once living grass, leaves, vegetable and fruit peelings are now rich, dark fertile dirt. Full of potential for new living things to grow in next spring.

We all are going to die but we also have a choice how we are going to live.What things can we grow in our fertile lives. What do we want to create,  how we can be a service to those around us, how we can help those who are struggling all around the world. It's a reality check that brings me daily back to how I want to live fully.

A while ago, I did a meditation challenge with Dr. Deepak Chopra and I wrote down something on his web site that touched me.

 "Today, and everyday, I give that which I want to receive." I nourish the Universe and the Universe nourishes me."

Yes, sometimes it's just about making a great ceasar salad and letting my daughter be a princess for a bit longer but mostly it's living life with gusto. Giving all of me to the world. I have a lovely quote on a book mark I use for my soul filled books and as I absorb new ideas and thoughts, I close my book on this idea;

"If there is light in the soul.....there will be peace in the world." ~Chinese proverb~

Today, what I can share with the world is my caesar salad recipe and my light.

Buddha said~"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."



Today, I'm thinking of Erin. All the kind, encouraging things she said to me and all the laughs she shared with me. All the light she brought to the world. I hope she is at peace.

"Precious Lord, take my hand.
Lead me on. Let me stand.
I am tired. I am weak. I am worn.
Through the storm,
Through the night,
Lead me on to the light.
Take my hand, precious Lord
and lead me home."

~African-American Spiritual~

Please join me in lighting the world and living fully while we are here, for my friend Erin, for all the people struggling, and for the people whom you have loved and hold close to your heart.

.

AND now, finally here is my caesar salad recipe.....for after all, we have to eat too. This is part of living life with gusto, my dear Italian friend Jane would wholeheartedly agree!

Here's are the main ingredients you will need

You will also need croutons, bacon bits,


Grace's Caesar Salad 

Ingredients

1 head of romaine lettuce
1 cup of homemade croutons
1/8 cup bacon bits (you can purchase vegan bacon bits too)
2 cups of croutons (easy to make)
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese





     
    Dressing:
    1/4 cup vegetable_oil
    2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
    1 tbsp white_wine_vinegar
    2 tsp Dijon_mustard or 2 tsp of dried mustard
    2 tsp  anchovy_paste (optional)
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
    1/2 tsp Worcestershire_sauce
    3 tbsp light mayonnaise

Preparation

1. Dressing: In bowl, whisk together oil, cheese, vinegar, mustard, anchovy paste, garlic, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk in mayonnaise until smooth.
 






  2. Tear lettuce into bite-size pieces to make about 20 cups (5 L); place in large bowl. Add dressing, croutons, bacon bits and cheese; toss to combine.


And here is our Friday night, sleepover dinner. A dinner fit for princesses!







We loved this so much, that I made a lentil soup on Saturday night and ANOTHER caesar salad, this time, adding roasted chicken pieces to the salad. It was sooo yummy, and hopefully it will go down as one of Grace's childhood favourites.

As for me, "I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see."

~John Burroughs~

And all the blog posts I want to write. Thanks dear family and friends for sharing in my life, reading my novellas and lighting the world with your love.



Live life with your heart wide open 
 
Until we meet again, may you be well, peaceful and happy.

Blessings from Hope
     
     

Wednesday, 24 September 2014

Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup

                                      

Tis the season. Soup season that is. Nothing says home, more than coming in the house after a long day to smell a delicious aroma drifting from the kitchen. Knowing it's healthy and satisfying makes it our family's fall comfort food. After a season of raw vegetables, salads and fruits, it's like putting on a wool sweater to warm your body.

                                                                                      
                                    

I was inspired to make this soup when Harrison woke up feeling under the weather. He had had his braces tightened, was feeling headachy and on top of that, felt like a cold was on his doorstep. I knew I had to make something easy to chew and filling. I went out into the garden to be inspired and when I saw the butternut squash, gleaming in the sun amongst the dying vines, I thought PERFECT!


(I planted 6 butternut squash plants in an area that wasn't ideal. I had pulled up yucca plants from this area and I didn't get all the roots up so I had little yucca plants growing up all around my squash this summer....but despite the competition for water and sun, the squash prevailed. Sadly, we won't have any to store for the winter as we LOVE squash and have eaten almost all of it. Next year, I'd like to plant twice the squash for our size family.)

I probably focus on our 15 year old Harrison's growing needs the most lately, since he literally grows a 1/8 of an inch every night. Okay, maybe that is an exaggerations. Let's just say, his basketball coach is going to love seeing him this year! Anyway, I get worried when his braces are tightened as his food consumption drops a lot.

Then I came inside to rummaged around the pantry (noticing that many of my bottles needed to be topped up and it's generally disorganized....another blog post for sure) and found some ginger root. I had purchased the ginger to make some tea but had forgotten all about it. Another PERFECT ingredient. I also dug some boneless chicken thighs from the freezer and although this soup is lovely with just vegetables, I find adding some pieces of chicken and broth very satisfying, especially for our son who basically lives on smoothies for days after he has his braces tightened.  If you are a vegetarian, of course please disregard the chicken aspect and use vegetable broth.

So without further ado, let's get cooking.





Hope's Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup

Ingredients
  • 1 butternut squash (peeled, seeds removed, and cubed)
  • (note, you can use 2 butternut squash instead of the carrots
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 large carrots 
  • 3 tbsp minced fresh ginger
  • 3 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 cup thinly sliced onion
  • 3 large garlic cloves
  • 1/8 cup brown sugar
  • 1 lb chicken
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups cooked rice (I used a Basmati because Harrison loves that...but personally I prefer a nutty brown rice
  • Chopped fresh parsley
  • Sour Cream for a topping, (opt)


Directions:

Put the rice on and while it's cooking;




Peel, the squash, remove the seeds and cube. Peel and chop the carrots. Mince the ginger, set aside 1 tbsp for later, and then crush 1 garlic clove.




Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil on a baking sheet and add the squash, the carrots, 1 crushed garlic clove, 2 tbsp of ginger, 2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg and sprinkle with sea salt with freshly ground pepper. Coat all really well in the oil and put in the oven to roast at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

If you are using chicken, you can cook it on a separate pan while the vegetables are roasting.

While the vegetables are roasting, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan, add 1 cup of chopped onion, 2 of the remaining garlic cloves (minced). Cook onions and garlic until translucent. Add 1 tbsp of minced ginger, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg and 1/8 of a cup of brown sugar. Cook until carmelized. 




Transfer the onion mixture to a soup pot, add the chicken and cook well until both are sizzling, add the chicken broth at this point. Bring to a boil, then add the rice and the roasted vegetables.



Add the chicken to the onions
Add 8 cups of chicken broth...less if you want to puree it
Add your roasted veggies and your rice



The magic in this soup is layering all the seasonings, otherwise it will be bland. Finally, if you aren't using chicken, if you wish, you can puree the soup in your food processor. I wanted our soup to have soft chunks for a filling main dinner soup. It would make a delightful fall soup prior to your entre. For our family, soup, salad, a rosemary dinner bun and old fashion rice pudding for dessert was perfect.





Ladle your soup into a bowl, add a sprig of parsley and a dollop of sour cream which is refreshing and a nice complement to the ginger. This is a warming soup full of flavour. Enjoy!



As if that wasn't good enough....finish it off with some old fashion rice pudding. Oh my, talk about comfort food or WHAT!


This was the creamiest rice pudding ever! Harrison ate his portion and before bed he sat down to finish off the rest of the casserole dish.

I don't know if it's more enjoyable to eat all this wonderful homemade stuff or to hear my family's contented sounds as they consume it.

This to me is one of the best parts of nurturing my children. Watching them appreciate food and grow.

If you are also interested in making the Rosemary dinner buns here is the recipe.


Rosemary Dinner Buns

Ingredients

*1 tbsp white sugar
*1 cup warm water
*1 package active dry yeast or 1 tbsp (I buy Red Star active dry yeast from Costco )
*1 tsp salt
Our rosemary plant next to the Kale
*2 tbsp softened butter
*2 tbsp rosemary....I went to the garden and picked it fresh
*1 tsp Italian seasoning
*3 cups bread flour...although you can use an all purpose as well
*1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
*1  beaten egg (opt)


Directions

  1. Dissolve the sugar in warm water in a medium bowl, and mix in the yeast. When yeast is bubbly, mix in salt, butter, 1 tablespoon rosemary, and Italian seasoning. Mix in 2 cups flour. Gradually add remaining flour to form a workable dough, and knead 10 to 12 minutes.
  2. Coat the inside of a large bowl with olive oil. Place dough in bowl, cover, and allow to rise 1 hour in a warm location.
  3. Punch down dough, and divide in half. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly grease paper. Shape dough into 2 round loaves, and place on the baking sheet. I like to shape my dough into balls and put on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining rosemary. Cover, and allow to rise 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  5. Brush loaves with egg. Bake 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brow



The Rosemary buns were such a nice flavour, next to the warming squash/ginger soup.

Finally, if you are a lover of Rice pudding, then you have to try this recipe. I actually had Harrison make it while I was making the soup and the buns. (he wasn't feeling that bad) We have been working in the kitchen together for years. I like to encourage all of our children to help me in the kitchen from the time they are small. We like to  make muffins, pancakes, cookies; things they are excited to eat.

 Once they are around 11 or 12, I like to get them working on main dishes and of course teach them to cook the foods they love. Harrison was more than happy to make this dessert for this meal and ended up eating the majority, which was good since he hadn't been eating much since visiting his orthodontist the day before. This is an excellent recipe to make if you have left over rice. I just made extra rice, when I made the Butternut Squash and Ginger soup.

Okay, get ready for comfort food extrordinaire......

Old Fashion Rice Pudding

* 3/4 cup uncooked white rice,
* 2 cups milk, divided
* 1/3 cup white sugar
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1 egg beaten
* 2/3 cup raisins
* 1 tbsp butter
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
*  2 tsp cinnamon
* 1 tsp nutmeg
 

Directions

  1. Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan; stir rice into boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
  2. In a clean saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg, and raisins; cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

  


After cooking the rice pudding on the stove top, pour it into a casserole dish, sprinkle it with cinnamon and nutmeg, put a lid on top and put it in the oven at 300 degrees for 30 minutes or until it thickens. Pour into dishes with a little piece of mint on top. It's a wonderful finish to this evenings meal.



We doubled the recipe for our gang but this is perfect if you have a family of 4, unless you love rice pudding. Then there is never enough!

Put in a fancy dish, add a sprig of mint and it looks like something from a restaurant


I hope you try this delightful trio of recipes. Thanks for coming today, it's always a pleasure having you in our kitchen.                                            
                                                                        


Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.


Blessings from Hope                                                                                                    

                                                                                         

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Welcome Fall

Welcome Fall! Will started his first day of kindergarten today. If you can call it that. It was more like a few moments in class, as it only lasted long enough for me to go to the grocery store for a quick shop with the little girls and to the library. He was excited all the same.

Will on his first morning of kindergarten....so excited!


 I was going to launch right into my latest creation from our kitchen, (Butternut Squash and Ginger soup with rosemary buns and real old fashion rice pudding) but my gosh, we had some real excitement around the 'ole homestead tonight. The kind of excitement I was anticipating should we move to the country.

As I was cleaning up the dinner dishes and talking to our daughter Grace about her first full day (a REAL full day) at school, our doorbell rang. It was our neighbour from 2 houses over saying he had just seen a bear.

                                                   



 It was a blonde bear and it had just jumped his fence with ease and was in our direct neighbour's back yard. He thought we would want to know as he knew our little ones were in the hot tub. (another reason I want to move to the country as our kids are incredibly noisy, although our neighbours have never said anything. I can ONLY IMAGINE what they think)




I digress. I told him that in all the years we have lived here, (21) we have only ever had one bear incident that didn't end well. I had come home from a lovely fall walk with our little little boys (now big ones) and was shocked to see two men on our deck, one with a rifle. They were conservation officers. When I asked them what was up, they said our neighbour had called them. Apparently, she had seen a bear off and on in her yard for a day or two and she thought it was now in the neighbour's yard below us. They have large apple trees and don't pick them regularly. The officer asked me when the school bus was due and I looked at my watch and told him any moment now.

With that information, they nodded, left our deck and walked over to the yard where they had spotted the bear. I stood on the deck with our 2 little boys, all excited about THE gun which was a big thing because the only guns we allowed in our house, were ones they made out of duplo blocks, despite the fact that their Dad used to be a champion trap and skeet shooter. Before we knew it, the conservation officers were in the next yard,  and there was a loud explosion. We saw the bear drop from the tree. At first, not knowing my guns, I thought the animal was just tranquilized but then I saw the blood, oozing from under it's body. A moment later the school bus drove up, stopped, and the neighbourhood kids, plus our oldest two, spilled out, none the wiser.



So that was our last experience with wildlife. Our children's school is further out, more on our valley bottom and often there are cougar sightings and occasionally the odd bear travels through as there is a creek near the school. Nothing of any consequence though.

Anyway, back to my story tonight.  I zoomed downstairs and told D to get out of the hot tub because of the bear sighting. As he got himself and the little kids out, he was telling me that Barbara, our direct neighbour yelled something over to him about a "bear" but he thought she was making a joke about their bare butts (the kids, not D's) in the tub and he just laughed it off. As we quickly got the little ones into their jammies, we talked about how rare it was to see any wild life. We told the little ones if  they hurried, they may be able to catch sight of the bear from our upstairs deck.

They were bubbling with excitement as they hustled upstairs and onto the deck. The evening was quickly closing in and dusk was settling. They purveyed the area but nothing materialized. Being cold and disappointed, they came inside still talking excitedly about the bear. As I looked out our kitchen window into the darkening sky, I saw a large owl perching on the top of our 40 foot birch tree. The kids were ooing and awing over this huge owl as our oldest son, Clark and his girlfriend walked in the front door.

                                                     
                                                             
                                                         

As we talked over each other, sharing snippets of what had just transpired, the owl flew off. WOW! It had an amazing wing span. We then went out the front door to see if we could catch a glimpse of anything. As you have probably seen from my pictures, our front yard is really quite secluded. Our drive way comes down to the front of our house and on either side of our property, there are tall pyramid cedar trees giving us total privacy from our neighbours. As we cautiously looked around, calling for our cats to come in, Clark's girlfriend said, "oh look, a deer." There on the ridge of the mountain behind our house was the silhouette of a deer.

Wow!
                                

Then before heading off for stories, Will and Grace decided to look for the bear one more time from our upstairs deck. A moment later they were shrieking for us to come and see. When when we got there, the bear had dropped down into the bushes. They said, they had watched him lumber along the pool deck (yes, all of our neighbours have watering holes too) swatting at something in the bushes and then he dropped out of sight. As we continued to watch for while, hoping to catch another glimpse, twilight settled and a curtain finally fell, leaving us to wonder.
.
A bear, an owl, and then a deer. Do we have to move to the country after all? This was one of the reasons I had wanted to move. I wanted to see the wild aspect of our world on a daily basis. I'm sure having deer eat my flowers/veggies or having bear get into our fruit trees would get old fast. Also, having hawks and eagles, (both of which we see regularly) pick up my little chicks and maybe even larger chickens too, would be a pain. But, to get up close and marvel at wild life, well that is pretty amazing.

 Our subdivision's motto is "Rural living at it's best," and tonight I was thinking how fitting that was.

So sorry if you had wanted to read about my delicious Butternut Squash and ginger soup recipe, you will have to stay tuned.......I got side tracked with real life happening here tonight.


Look deep into nature,
and then you will understand everything better.
-Albert Einstein 

Until I see you again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope


Sunday, 21 September 2014

Summer Ends on this Soul Sunday



Goodbye summer!
 It's been sweet. There have been so many wonderful memories and special moments to hold close to my heart.





 Summer ends today on this sacred Sunday.

Yesterday, after working really hard around the house and yard, me cleaning the house, then mowing our lawns and working in the garden, while D cleaned the pool and cleared the junk lying around in the garage, we popped our kids into the van, picked up the LAST slurpee of the season, dropped some books off at the library and went for a drive into the country.

We drove past fields of corn still growing, farmers mowing their final cut of hay, and cows fattening up, lazily eating late summer grass. As the kids slurped the last of summer's sugar, we in the front seats, talked about how 2014 hadn't gone as we had planned, We started talking about what we wanted our future to look like.

We looked at some acreages (just land) that were for sale. Some too small, others too steep and tree filled, and then we drove past the BEAUTIFUL old fashion (but new) farm house, I have fallen in love with. It's too far out for D to commute. Too far from the high school and University bus, and well, although it has an abundance of land, 78 acres, we've aptly named it, "the ON the grid house." It has a high power electric line, (138 k.V.) I think D said, running down the middle of the huge hay field. While I LOVE this house and can imagine our family living there, having all my innards humming, isn't my idea of living off the land. Plus, in our opinion they are asking too much money. So we drive on.

When we came to a side road, D asked if I wanted to take it, knowing full well we would eventually come to another road. A road I had dreamed would lead us to our new home. I just nodded and for the longest time we drove silently thinking of what was ahead. Then we started to chat, admiring the farms with quaint houses with matching red barns, or making a comment about how some people don't care for their precious land and allow debris to clutter up their property. We are envious.

                                                                                                

Eventually, we came to the road that would take us past the farm we had dreamed of living in this fall. Interestingly enough, the name of the road didn't ever dawn on me until now. It's called, "Hurt Road." Do you ever think about the power of names? D smiled at me as he turned right and we meandered along the road, drinking in the beauty of the late summer glory. We were seeing this road for the first time  in late summer, since we found this property late last year when snow was almost on the ground. Everything was so green, rich and beautiful.

Finally, we came to the Christmas tree farm's first drive way,....it has this lovely 1/2 circle drive way that you enter from one side and leave from the other. I rolled down my window and the crisp scent of fall filled the air. You could hardly see the house, although it's only situated 100 or so feet from the road. The deciduous trees are so thick with leaves but here and there are colours of yellow, orange and red. The trees know fall is coming.



For a few seconds, I let myself daydream about turning into the drive-way and going home, then reality hit. This is someone else's house now. The pain hit. Sheepishly, I asked D if we could leave a note on the front door, asking the new owners to contact us if they ever wanted to sell. He reminded me the house had sold at the top of our price range and they would want more money, IF they ever were to sell. I slumped into my seat for a minute as we slowly drove down the road and then sat up a bit taller to admire a horse we were driving by. I was sad. We turned around at the end of the road, as it is a dead end road, (just what I wanted) and this time as we cruised by the farm, an insight came to me.

It dawned on me, until I say goodbye to the dream of THAT farm, I will never have my heart open to find another just as wonderful. A place for all my family to grow, to learn, to connect. A place where we can sit around the dining room table, like the Walton family from my favourite childhood T.V. show. A place where we can become even more sustainable and independent. A place where we can become not just farmers, but be soul FILLED people.

And that is also the way it is in life. If we are always hanging onto a time, a place, or things, our hearts and minds aren't open for new experiences. As time travels and we continue on our path, we need to open our arms and our hearts for the joy that is waiting. As I say goodbye to summer, I say Hello to the unknown of fall and the memories to come. Abundant blessings to be sure.

This post also reminds me that right now, RIGHT NOW, is all that matters. Right now, is the gift given on this last day of summer. On a Soul Sunday. I'm going to go and have a relaxing bath, get dressed and join D and the kids who I can hear are in the kitchen laughing while making pancakes. There is fresh fruit and maple syrup too. Ahhhh the luxury of living in the moment. The bliss of it all.

                                              

As I leave you, if you haven't checked out Oprah's Soul Sunday interviews to help you connect with the sacred, I would highly recommend them. They help me remember we are all connected and living our dream, right now!



Note: If you are using an Apple product, you may not be able to view the video below. If so check out this link that should connect you to the video with Dr. Brian Weiss and Oprah talking about grief and living)


Join me in welcoming Fall! It's going to be the BEST season yet!

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope