Friday, 26 January 2018

Carrot Muffins and Blessing Today



What does the wisdom of Gandalf, blessing today and carrot muffins have in common? Well hang in there and I will try to tie them all together. I'm sorry that I haven't been writing more on my blog. I have been rather depressed since Christmas. Ever since everyone went back to their own lives full of wonderful experiences and interesting activities. I've also been sad over the state of our world.

On a personal note:

Our oldest daughter, Alyssa, (also a passionate LOTR fan...for those of you who are not, that stands for the "Lord of the Rings" which are books written by J. R.R. Tolkien) is back living and working in Victoria as a teacher and a writer. (Check out her latest post on her blog, A.R. Reynolds)



Our oldest son, Clark is working at our local Science Center and patiently waiting for law schools to knock on our door. Fingers crossed that he will be returning to school in the fall; not that I'm in any hurry for him to leave home but I know the next chapter of his life is beckoning.



Our son Mitchell, who just turned twenty two yesterday, (Happy Birthday dearest son) is in his last year of Science at the University of Victoria, and later this Spring he will graduate with his bachelor's degree. Who knows where he will go with his Science/Psychology degree but there is a need for mental health professionals in Canada ( in the world really) right now, so I'm sure he will find this an exciting and flourishing field to continue to study, or work in.



Our third son, Harrison, who just turned 19 before Christmas, is in his first year of University and he seems to be handling a full course load of Science/business courses. I never hear from him so I know he's staying busy with school. When I run into his friends, some who have remained in our little town to attend our local University, they tell me that from the snap chats he sends out, "he's having a very good time away from home!"



 Hmmmm.....a mom letting go moment here. I'm happy you are enjoying University life Harry.

Grace, who just turned 15, is probably the busiest of  us all. While maintaining straight A's in school, she is also working on her grade 9 piano, her grade 7 voice, she has a voice festival coming up, sings in the school choir, and plays on the school basketball team. The later came TOTALLY out of left field, when she told us back in November, that she was going to try out for the junior girl's team. (never having played before!!!) Shockingly, she is following in her older brother Harrison's footsteps with adept ability. During their last tournament she won, "most valuable player,"and was given a t-shirt/Gatorade as a prize. She strongly played her post position, made several baskets, including two back to back free throws and assisted numerous times. Who knew? (Goes to show we all have unknown talents and gifts)



Our son William who is eight, is no couch potato either. He plays cello, and is involved in the group string orchestra at our local music school. He is also swimming in our local swim clubs "grassroots program." Last night he came home smiling and waving an upcoming swim meet registration form. He also enjoys being a part of the chess club at school.



Finally there are our twin daughters, Kathryn and Victoria. For six year olds, they are busy in their own right, learning to play piano and violin. Next week they have been invited to join the beginner violin group at our music school.Although we didn't register them for another round of swimming and skating lessons, which they were doing all fall, (me smiling as that was a bit much) we have been getting them out to skate at our new and improved outdoor skating rink. I think they like it even better than lessons as they can free skate, doing whatever they want while racing their Dad and older brother Will. (Next time I'm joining them)

Kathryn

Victoria

Then there is my husband David, who doesn't share much about his work except to say, "more projects have been pouring in," with a grin on his face. I guess that is why he heads out the door to get to the office for 7 am each morning

David, truly my better half


So you see, everyone is busy with their own lives.

Then there is me.



I've kind of been floundering since the twins started grade one last September. I think I understand one aspect towards parents who choose home-schooling. It's really a delight keeping them close and watching them learn and grow. I truly admire these families.I've been asked a few times lately if I home-school our children and I think I will write about our education choices in a future post and perhaps give you some links to tools and resources we use to support our children's learning but for now suffice it to say----


AFTER I waved goodbye to the little ones, who took the bus this morning, I decided that I HAD to break the monotony of my daily routine.

As you can see from the distant hillsides, we still have tons of snow


OR I was going to go crazy!!!

INSTEAD of coming in and cleaning up the kitchen, which was a MESS from a whirlwind morning of cooking oatmeal, making a fruit smoothie, and making lunches, (yes I should have made them last night), picking up bathroom towels and pj's off the floor, throwing my first load of laundry in for the day, unloading last nights dishes from the dishwasher, gathering up garbage from everyone's bedroom, and making beds; that is just a snippet glimpse into my morning routine,

I chose to feed the cat, not really a choice since he was loudly meowing that he was hungry, AND I took the chickens their breakfasts. (those chickens eat better than most people in the world, just saying) After that, I disregarded the mess and made a BIG cup of black tea, with a splash of vanilla unsweetened almond milk, took a bowl of leftover oatmeal, and headed back to bed.

I never do this!!!

                                                     Take the gentle path.
                                                              ~ George Herbert~
Nope!

That has not been my path.........

My oldest sister B often says to me, "be gentle on yourself." I don't know if she meant for me to crawl back into bed after the kids left for school but I know when she says this, she means she wants me to take life easier.

That is not in my DNA!

For some reason, the mantra I hear lingering years after my Dad died, when I was five years old is:                    

                                                          "Work hard!"

But.....

 I think there is great wisdom in my oldest sister's words. Thanks B! I wished I listened to them more.

But today, I'm all ears.

I am here, laptop in hand, sipping comforting tea, eating oatmeal loaded with nuts, seeds and fruit, and cuddled under my cozy comforter. Ryuuki, our Siamese cat is doing his front paw kneading routine, getting ready to curl up for a good sleep. He looks at me with his big blue eyes and says, "it's about time you joined me in the good life."



Ryuuki is a good teacher how to live life gently.


We should all listen to our big sisters, and our pets.

I'm pondering my depression. Looking at it as if it were a ball of darkness in my hands. Like the "palantir," which was the crystal ball in J. R. R. Tolkien's books, "Lord of the Rings." Mine is black and heavy. As I gaze into the depths of the ball, instead of seeing a blazing evil eye, as the small hobbit, "Pippin," in the Lord of the Rings saw when he picked it up, I see the United States president, Donald Trump telling the North Korean dictator,  Kim Jong-un that he has a bigger nuclear button on his desk.

With their hateful words and actions, they draw us closer towards midnight on the doomsday clock. Thanks to these two leaders, (can they be called that???") a panel of scientists and scholars said just yesterday that the world is as close as it has ever been to a so-called doomsday scenario. A nuclear war which will end life as we know it on earth. For some reason, I think about the Lord of the Rings trilogy set in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, when I read or hear any news about Trump and the Korean Dictator. At times, it's so bizarre that it feels like a fictional nightmare. But this is really happening on our earth right now.



I try to look away but then my crystal ball shows me an image of my children. Small and sweet like the hobbits in the LOTR's. William's laughter is light and tinkling and his eyes shine with joy, and the little girls respond with giggles of mirth. Their images replace Trump and Kim Jong-un and the doomsday clock. I can see our children playing music together and hear the harmony flowing out of the ball and into the world.

Clark playing violin with his little sisters, Kate on the left and Tori on the right


And I wonder, how can a depressed, middle age mom, help to change the world, when I don't even have the energy to clean the house today. How can I shift the darkness that hovers over my heart, over our planet, and threatens to invade my home? As I asked these questions of myself, I thought of the words of Gandalf.

"It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folks that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love."

And that is where my small acts of kindness and love come in....and I start to tie in the whole blessing aspect of my post.

"Bless a thing and it will bless you. Curse it and it will curse you...if you bless a situation,it has no power to hurt you, and even if it is troublesome for a time, it will gradually fade out, if you sincerely bless it."                                         ~Emmet Fox~

Blessing the circumstances we are living with in the world, is our pathway to changing it. Accepting the situation and WHAT IS, doesn't mean we are complacent towards it. No! But it is the first step in the path towards moving forward and changing our circumstance.

In my own personal life, things are changing. My children are growing up and moving out into the world. They don't need me quite as much. That's a good thing. That means David and I are raising strong independent people. This is a blessing.  Lately, I've been thinking about getting back into the work force but when I think about trying to balance everything again; work and home life, I cringe.

 Is that the right path for me"

After seeing two career opportunities that interested me recently, both of which I'm qualified for, I shared my thoughts with my husband. He looked at me for a long time, contemplating my words and my desire to move down a new path but after what felt like a long time, he said,

                              "You underestimate your value in our home."

Huh?

 He further went on to say that everything I did at home, enabled everyone else to accomplish great things.

Wow!

I do that!

Really?

As I was in the kitchen pouring a second cup of steaming tea just now, I dropped the job ads in the recycling bin. I must admit January is a slow month. I need more sunshine. Also, I know my garden will be calling to me in a short while. I have great plans for expanding our vegetable garden. Adding a few more chickens to our flock and maybe planting a mini grape vineyard. Once spring comes, David and I will be working on our second rock wall above the pool and getting it planted. In the meantime, we have to finish the attic renovation before Harrison returns in late April. And then there is always the opportunity to work at my gardening gig from late April to mid June. My boss did invite me back at the end of last season.

There is a lot to bless today.

I sit up a bit straighter in bed, that dark ball slips further from my fingertips. And yet, that heaviness holds on like a tight strap around my heart, squeezing any happiness I may feel.

I know I'm not the only one feeling this way.

Judging from all the protest marches occurring in the States, and various places around the world, I'm not alone in wanting positive change in the world. 

But what can I do about it?


So many questions....

And then something I heard recently on the CBC radio hits me. I wish I could remember the name of the guest speaker,  but I was driving at the time and I couldn't write his name down. He was a spiritual teacher who said, there is power in sending a different message out into the world. One most people wouldn't think of but has tremendous power.

                                       Loving kindness

Hmmmm.

During that CBC radio segment, seeds were planted in my heart and I know that by taking the time to be gentle on myself today, it loosened  the straps of darkness holding me hostage. Although, I'm personally not in a place to send loving kindness to men who move through the world as ego, power hungry lunatics, I AM willing to send them a blessing.

A blessing of kindness.


If I really want to be about helping our planet earth, then it starts from a place of accepting these men are in power, understanding that we are on the brink of a pending apocalyptic event, and fear and hatred is not an effective emotion right now. These feelings never solved anything.

Blessing others and sending loving kindness is the answer. And if enough of us take a moment to bless our earth and all that is happening within it, and especially those who vex us, I know this is the key to the positive change I want to see in the world.

Who knew that the most effective form of protest was a blessing.

This is where I need to be right now.

My family needs me at home...even if I am in bed writing this morning.


Maybe it's the way out of my depression too.

There is GREAT wisdom in choosing to take a gentle path in life. Maybe more of us need to cuddle up in bed with our cat or puppy by our side, sipping hot comforting tea. I'm blessed to have this option. But most of us can incorporate some kindness towards ourselves into our day.

 No matter what path we are on, we need to take gentle steps. Steps that aren't fraught with rocks, easing ourselves towards more joy, more kindness, and definitely more love.

Bless today!

And what does all of this have to do with Carrot muffins you may ask. When we bless our day and those in it, we bless what is. We accept our circumstances and in doing so there is a exhale of surrender. We let go. And with that letting go moment, trust whooshes in. You know that saying that the Universe can't abide a void. When we let go, trust flows into our life and goodness follows it.

And like the law of attraction, when we live in a state of goodness, we attract more of it into our lives.

Goodness comes!

                                      And THAT is where the carrot muffins come in.

My Goodness!

Because after a morning of writing, sipping tea, and generally, being kind to me, I filled my cup up. I'm able to give back. I'm able to send blessings out to the world and particularly to two men that I feel need a whopping bowlful of  it for how they have been behaving. And for my family, well, when my kids come home from school this afternoon, they are going to smell warm spices wafting out of our kitchen and find a large red plate loaded with carrot muffins waiting JUST for them.

Yes, as Mother Teresa said, "I can do no great things, only small things with great love." And so today, I can write about being sad, about blessing my situation, about blessing those who vex us, and about moving in the direction towards change with an expectation for only goodness.When we send love out, we are really loving ourselves.

Because if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times; "We ARE, all connected!"

Please join me in a sec in my kitchen and we can make some muffins. I need to get up now, bath and get my house whipped into shape. Gee, who knew I would have so much energy after a morning in bed! While we bake let's listen to the following YouTube video. As I was writing this post and talking about the spiritual leader I heard on CBC earlier this month, I remembered an email I got from my sister C. (I know, I'm blessed to have THREE wise and gorgeous sisters) Anyway, I guess the Universe REALLY wanted me to get this message. The link to the YouTube video she sent is a guided loving meditation from Ajahn Sona, who I met many years ago during a weekend retreat at the Birken Monastery.

 No matter what your beliefs or faith, when you come from a place of love, there is great healing.

The first time I listened to Ajahn Sona's video and sang along with him, "All I ask of you is forever to remember me, as loving you," I cried and cried. Tears just flowed. I was thinking about my mom, my dad, about my sisters and their families. I thought about each of our children and hoped that they ALL know, that if I said nothing else to them in this lifetime, that they hear THESE words, from me. It"s such a healing message. Then as I said these words to my loved ones, I was hearing them say these words back to me.

My sister C, I heard you gently singing them to me. Thank you!!!

And get ready to sing, and cry......if you can't see the video below, click on the hyper-link.


"All I ask of you is forever to remember me as loving you." 


I know I wove in and out of various topics today in this post, but if you remember nothing more, remember my love for you and my intention to contribute to the world in a loving way. As always, I'd love to hear from you. If you are unable to comment directly on this blog, you can always send me a message on my Facebook page.

            Love is where it's at people~the rest is just filler.

And speaking of filler.....here is my carrot muffin recipe.Let's bake!


Hope's Homestead Carrot Muffins

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 cup of carrot/apple pulp (when I made my juice yesterday I saved the pulp but if you don't have any pulp from left over juicing use 1 cup of applesauce instead)
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk
2 cups flour (I like to use 1 cup whole wheat/1 cup white flour...using just wheat makes it heavy)
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of grated carrots

Topping Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 allspice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

In a medium bowl mix the 2 eggs, 1 cup of carrot/apple pulp and/or 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup oil,  1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup almond milk and 2 cups of grated carrots.

In a large bowl mix the 2 cups of flour, the 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of white sugar,  1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt and the spices. (1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp allspice)

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients but only until just combined. Over mixing will create a heavy muffin....and we want light muffins with nice texture

Place into greased muffin tins.....I fill to the top as I like big muffins. This recipe makes 18 nice size muffins.

Sprinkle the topping, sugar, spices and walnuts on top of each muffin.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes to 20 minutes...or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool slightly and then turn onto a cookie rack to cool....but only long enough to EAT!

A couple muffins for me to go along with my tea...while I edit this post


And a plate waiting for the kids to come home


As you munch on muffins, I hope you contemplate how you can take a gentle path. And as you move through your day, say your blessings.



Blessed be my blogging family!

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

Hugs and much love from Hope

Friday, 12 January 2018

Pumpkin Cake Roll and a New Year, a New Day, a New Chapter


"New Year's Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today, carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change."            
                                                                                                           ~Sarah Ban Breathnach~

Happy New Year!

It's taking me a bit of time to get rolling this year. Our holiday celebrations took a toll on me. I thought I was doing amazing. The house was sparkling, (and decluttered!!!) the tree and Christmas decorations were up, most of my baking was done, and all the presents were wrapped and hidden safely away from curious little ones asking questions like, "is Santa real?" and "how does he get through the glass that covers our gas fireplace?"

I was pretty proud of myself. We got this Grand Fir and the huge poinsettia that's in the living room with points from the  Super Store. Little things like that really helped so we could stretch our dollars at Christmas time.


Then on the Thursday before Christmas, during our twin daughter's violin recital, I started to feel hot and dizzy. That was the beginning. Even though I pushed through the few next days, buying a horde of groceries on Friday and then on Saturday doing all the final things to ready our house for our returning, out of town children, I knew some kind of virus was taken me hostage.


Victoria before the December recital
Kathryn a bit before the recital...the recital when I started to feel ill.....but the concert was GREAT!

And sure enough, as Christmas loomed, a roaring headache took hold, my body was feverish and I started to cough. I had contracted a respiratory flu virus. I think I could even trace the moment it flew into my mouth. The weeks before Christmas, our three youngest took turns being sick and one evening, as I was reading with Victoria, she turned to me and coughed right in my face. In slow motion, I could feel the invisible virus laughing and jeering at me. I think I may have staved off the illness too as my immune system has been really strong but in December I was burning the candle pretty low, and it pushed myself beyond even my limits.

And those limits are far.

I have built a strong endurance muscle over the years. I think a lot of women with large families have this muscle. It's called, "if you don't do it, it won't get done."

Since I have three Christmas babies, (Clark born on Dec 20th, Harrison born on the 19th, and Grace was born on Dec 5th. She was actually due on the 18th. Can you imagine having children's birthday's on the 18th, 19th, and 20th and then doing Christmas!!! Thankfully she arrived a few weeks early. Suffice it to say, I have had a few holiday seasons were I was nursing a newborn, throwing birthday parties, caring for older children, buying and wrapping presents and then stuffing and cooking the turkey; WITHOUT ANY HELP..

 Yeah so my limits and ability to get through difficult times are tremendous.

 But this year, that virus really took the edge off things.

Being sick while trying to push through teaches valuable lessons. That there are times in life when you have to really listen to your body, slow down and do just what needs doing.And sometimes you have to ask for help.

Hmmmm, imagine that....asking for help.

There is a certain sense of strength that comes after pushing through a tough time and finding yourself on the other side. But being able to ask for help teaches us to be humble enough to realize that we can't always do it all.

And it's okay. 


Somehow I made it through the holidays. On Dec 23rd, I had to ask my oldest son to cook the rib roast and pull together dinner and he did an amazing job. On Dec 24th, Alyssa and Grace iced the dozens of gingerbread and sugar cookies I had made. Even Will trudged through the deep snow and fed the chickens a few times.

As Alyssa was combing through her books and belongings and deciding what to take back to her new home, she tossed me a book that she had already read.

Guess what it's called?

"The Art of Asking." by Amanda Palmer



And while I have not read this book...yet.... I thought it was pretty remarkable that our oldest daughter, who is just in her 20's, has already contemplated something that I have taken a lifetime to learn. Maybe we do build our own endurance muscles when we do it ourselves. I know Alyssa certainly has since she picked herself up and flew off to London to teach for two years without hardly knowing a soul. She had to move several times, schlepping her suitcases onto buses and trains and got herself all over London on various teaching assignments.

 There are times in our life when we push our limits and build our muscles and there are times when we hit a wall and have to ask for help. She learned that when she was over on the other side of the world she could rely on herself but she also knew that having a support system of friends in place was crucial if she needed to ask for her. I remember in one instance, her apartment flooded and she needed to find a place to stay and her friends were there for her.

Anyway, aren't our children sometimes our BEST teachers?

The holidays glittered in so many ways.

We made wonderful memories. We had a lot of laughs. We had some delicious food and drinks. With our children growing older, I realize that they can help and have strong muscles too. If you never ask, you will never receive and so part of the joy of this holiday was receiving. Our older ones were more than happy to help me and even our younger ones, built a bit of muscle too. We realized that being a family means helping each other, especially when times are tough.

When mom is sick.

William is learning to play chess at school and got a chess set for Christmas....not this one....his new one is in a lovely wooden box and actually has other games included with it.

On Christmas night the kid's put on a Christmas concert for us. William literally lights our family up with joy....I'm so glad that we pursued having our last four children. It wasn't easy, and we certainly didn't have support of our family and friends. Our society also doesn't value large families and certainly having them later in life is frowned upon.  But when you are writing your own story, you need to listen from within and follow your heart. JOY COMES...and in our case, it came in the form of a beautiful boy named Will. And before him we were given a piece of Grace when our daughter Grace Eliabeth arrived in time for Christmas 2002. Then in 2011 we were given a miracle and a reminder that hope is the key when Kathryn Mira and Victoria Hope were born. So Grace, Joy, Miracle and Hope are present each holiday now.
This is our son Harrison's 1st plate of food on Christmas.....hey, where's the ambrosia? Each one of the kids were in charge of a certain part of dinner....it was a family affair.

 That was the real magic in the air this year....along with my barking cough.

Alyssa took some wonderful pictures with the old Canon camera we gave her many Christmases ago.......and here are just a few of our Christmas memories.


Kathryn and Victoria are 6 this holiday and always have each other's back. They are the BEST of friends

Grace just turned 15 and has been one busy girl this year. She is working on her grade 9 RCM piano level, working on her grade 7 in voice, sings in the school choir, andt completed her bronze cross in swimming. For some reason she didn't think she was busy enough so she signed up for Junior girls basketball team. As I type this she is leaving for a tournament out of town.She laughs when she hears about what most teenagers are flipping out about....boys, or social stuff. The typical teenage drama doesn't faze her. She recently told me that she thinks focusing on her extra curricular activities and getting straight A's in school is keeping it real.
Alyssa and Grace are almost 13 years apart, like my oldest sister and I, and like B and I, they too are the best of friends. They share many of the same interests. Piano, swimming, and over Christmas they enjoyed just hanging out, baking, icing cookies, and they even spent a bit of time in our Hobbit's hollow crawl space where they caught up on a few of their fav Netflix shows...."Stranger Things," being one of them.

\Harrison was happy to be home and eat food this Christmas. He says the food at the University is not always the greatest....and he really missed his friends as well and spent a lot of time catching up and, ahem....partying...but hey, he just turned 19 he's legal to drink now. One of the gifts he got for his birthday before Christmas was a small bar fridge for his residence room. Hopefully now he can get a few healthy snacks to supplement those cafeteria meals.

Mitchell is going to be finishing his Science (Psychology major) degree in a few months. I found it rather funny that considering he works part time at the downtown Victoria, "Serious Coffee," that he wasn't sick of the stuff....but over Christmas he could often be found with a mug in his hand. He's such a cool guy and so fun to be with. He tells the greatest stories too and has a very interesting perspective on life....an old soul for sure!

Our oldest son Clark just turned 25 before Christmas and really enjoyed hanging out with the family and seeing friends over the holidays.He can always be counted on to shovel the drive=way, help out with the little ones and amazingly....he learned to make a wicked rib roast dinner...the BEST I've ever tasted and I'm not much of a beef eater.
The little kids love hanging out with their big brother. Clark helps the little girls with their violin, and he sometimes reads in animated voices to William.....I loved hearing him read Harry Potter to him before Christmas. The BEST is when he comes home with treats after a day that he has worked at the Science Centre. The one sad thing about having a large family is often the older kids are out of the door while the little ones are growing up but it's been nice that Clark could attend University in the Okanagan and continue to share in his little siblings daily life. What a great bond and many memories they have shared together. After Clark's personal pictures were taken, I asked the kids if they wanted a picture with their big bro and they flew to be at his side with big smiles on their faces.

 
Alyssa told me that when she returned to Victoria after Christmas, a remarkable thing happened. It felt like she was going home. After years of traveling back and forth to University, and then her two years teaching and adventuring in the U.K. she is happy to settle down and find a cool groove where she can teach and write....and yes travel. Sometimes you have to leave home and experience elsewhere to realize REAL home feels like to you. We are so glad you found your place by the sea Alyse....and now we can visit!!!

Honestly, I felt like death warmed over in this picture but somehow David and I pulled off another Christmas with our family

And I give you the Reynolds family Christmas 2017....thanks for pulling the pictures together Alyssa!

My husband David was his usual super dad self. He drove to the coast and back on the 23rd, picking up the kids from the Vancouver Island ferry terminal. He swung by Ikea to pick up a new mattress for the attic we have been renovating. Then to top things off, over the Christmas holiday, he made our oldest daughter a few furniture pieces for her new digs by the ocean in Victoria. And finally, he took the kids back on New Year's day. Driving them home all the way to Vancouver Island in one day. Getting them food at Costco the next day and returning back to the Okanagan in time to return to work on Jan 3rd!

Alyssa was given an espresso machine and coffee maker for Christmas but of course now David had to make her a beverage table for her new appliances. He used this cool grey barn wood for the top and the lower shelf and painted the legs etc all black....it was so amazing! I WANT ONE! (what a trooper 'cause the garage was FREEZING!!!)
Alyssa took a ton of books back with her and of course, if you give a mouse a cookie...she needs a bookcase to go with all those books...here is her new bookcase in calla lilly white with a beadboard backing...very old school and perfect for her blue, white and grey decor at her oceanside place in Victoria
Okay and if the beverage table and the bookcase weren't enough, our birch tree is dying so David used some of the old wood to make her a lamp for her bedroom. This birch tree was planted when Alyssa was just a little girl so there is some history there and a nice piece to take back to Victoria.....I'm going to get David to make more of these lamps for the other kids....I think it's neat for them to have something off the our property....and a memory from Lakelin Reach, our homestead


 AMAZING Man!


And woodwork talent must run in the family since William, Kathryn and Victoria, made these cute barn board snow men for their Christmas gifts for us....these are keepers!!! Thank you to their wonderful school teachers. They are so blessed to have the BEST teachers in the world.


And just so we don't forget, Christmas 2017 was very snowy. Thanks to our three strong sons, they kept the driveway clear
So Alyssa, our oldest is back to her high school English gig in Victoria, our son's Mitchell and Harrison are back to the University of Victoria, and all the younger ones are back to school. Clark our oldest son did his second LSAT before Christmas and he just found out that he did extremely well. He received a 166, which is in the 93rd percentile, so Whoo hoo! a little celebration happy dance happening here. I know he would tell me to knock on wood, but hopefully he will be accepted to law school next fall, and as his best friend who is already in his 2nd year of law said, he would be absolutely shocked if he didn't get in with that kind of score. Time will tell but that is exciting news for the new year. Maybe all those debates we had will finally pay off! Great work Clark!

So life is humming along here to a degree. Although if I'm being truly honest, I'm a bit bummed. Today my writing group started a new workshop session and I will not be attending.

BUMMER!

I knew it might me iffy, since despite being really careful and choosing the best, most useful gifts for our children at Christmas, we did go a bit overboard. Then there was the expense of bringing them all home and getting them back with food in their cupboards.

And to top it off, during the trip to he Island, even though David was driving extremely carefully in the snowy, winter conditions, a car flew by them and a large rock flew up and shattered our sun roof on our van. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Well, thank heavens no one was hurt and the impact didn't startle David to lose control of the van and crash, but well, in the end that was an expense we hadn't counted on. Interestingly enough the deductible we have to pay is exactly the same amount as my writing workshop fee.

Isn't it interesting how that works out!

How life gives you choices and you have to pick a path.

Hence,  I'm at home writing, instead of sequestered with my writing mentor and buds this morning.

BUMMER!

I was really looking forward to digging deeper with my group and getting some meaningful writing accomplished in the next three months. As I was straightening up the house after the kids went to school this morning, I was kind of depressed that I wasn't getting ready to head off to join the group. How in the heck am I going to get my book finished if I don't have the guidance and support of my group of cohorts.

And then I gave myself a kick in the butt.

"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit."                                                              ~Helen Keller~


Or wrote a book!

And with that quote in mind, I realized that as marvelous as my writing group is, as inspiring as my mentor L is, nothing can prevent me from writing what is often bursting from my soul. Unless I allow depression and pessimism to take hold.

This is a new year, a new chapter in my life and I can write whatever I want in my book. And damn, by the rich smell of my life's compost, this will be a fertile year. Not just for my writing, but for us finishing up the attic renovation, the second wall above the pool, and more garden space built in the back forty.



"When you lay the seeds of your dreams in the rich hummus of optimism, abundance grows." ~Lee Reynolds~

We are due to have another dump of snow in the next day or so and while we are still hibernating indoors to a large degree. This is a good time to get some words written, some borscht soup made, and print out the goals I want to accomplish this year.

 How about you? Have you written the first few lines of your new chapter? 

This is my latest mantra. A mantra that my Traditional Chinese Medical doctor used to say to me before my acupuncture sessions years ago, when I was trying to till the fertile soil of my body so we could conceive another baby.....as it turns out....our William..... And that mantra is: 

"This is a new day!"

 How do you want to live it?

Maybe reading a book, or making my Pumpkin Roll cake below. If you are spending a lot of time tucked under a quilt like me this winter, I'd love to share a whimsical novel I read over the holidays. If you enjoy a bit of fantasy, you are a homesteading fan, and love children or yearn for them, (and if you are a reader of my blog, I imagine some of that interests you) then you probably will enjoy this beautifully, lyrical book.

My winter, must read recommendation is: "Snow Child," by Eowyn Ivey.  



 
 I hope you love it as much as I did.

And now for my sister B's recipe for:

Auntie Bonnie's Pumpkin Roll Cake

She gave this to me years ago and my kids love it. It's super easy too so I don't know why we don't make it more often. Okay
 without further ado, here it is.

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 cup of granulated sugar
2/3 of a cup of canned pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Filling Ingredients

6 ounces of cream cheese
1 cup powdered icing sugar
4 tbsp of butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Beat 3 eggs on high speed of mixer for 5 minutes; gradually beat in 1 cup of granulated sugar. Stir 2/3 cup canned pumpkin and 1 tsp lemon juice. Stir together 3/4 cup of flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp salt. Fold into pumpkin mixture

Spread on greased and floured 15x10x1 inch pan. Top with 1 cup of finely chopped walnuts

Bake at 375 F degrees for 15 minutes. Turn onto a towel that is sprinkled with powdered sugar. Starting at the narrow end, roll the towel and cake together; Cool

Unroll. for filling combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, 6 ounces of creamed cheese, 4 tbsp of butter, or margarine, and 1/2 tsp vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread evenly over the cake; Roll; chill; slice and serve.....makes enough for a large family of 10....US! Perfect!

I whipped this up while I was still feeling very under the weather but boy was it good!


This is a lovely, light dessert, absolutely perfect after a winter dinner....or even after a light soup, salad and bun dinner. The spices are yummy and so warming. Absolutely perfect to take and share during a winter potluck.

Enjoy!!!

As the new year unfolds, I hope you open to the idea of writing the first pages of your 2018 book with optimism and joy. Let it be one that you can look back, turn the pages and smile.

Write it well.

And remember, today is a new day and anything is possible.

If you can't see the link above, check out the Celine Dion song, "A New Day." I remember hearing that this song meant a lot to her as she went through a lot of pain and struggle to have her first son. When he finally born, it felt like a new day had come. I can relate as you know, that was a mantra that I used when we were trying to conceive and it gave me hope daily that each day holds new possibilities in our life.

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

Blessings from Hope