Fin.

It’s been awhile since I last posted.

And for quite a while I’ve felt a bit hesitant about sharing.

Life continues to unfold in both familiar and unpredictable ways.

My WordPress account came up for renewal, and I decided (or maybe the decision decided me?) to not renew my blog.

Other facets of my life are calling.

I enjoy looking back 6 months, and considering the possibility of 6 months from now…

In 6 months, this now emerging sunflower (providing it thrives & survives the season, sets seed, and I can get to it before birds do) will be, once again, a powerful and humble seed.

I wanted to thank anyone and everyone who read this blog, and for those who followed this blog.

I hope it offered some benefit.

It meant a lot to me, and I’m aware that all time is precious, and so I thank you for using your time this way.

Wishing you all good things.

Good morning glitch.

yes, well, I can’t load any photos today for some reason.

I’ve sent a “help, please?” request to the WordPress humans.

So no photo today.

Wishing you all good things

The day after, with Penelope & the Passionflower.

 

…aaaaand the day after…

  

[Quiet Thoughts] Two Citizens to Raise

Gooder for the 4th
Enjoy

Herbal Sun Tea Punch.

  

Punch.

Here’s a delicious, very refreshing herbal beverage for the summer

In jars, or one large jar, add equal parts Peppermint, Chamomile, Hibiscus, & Lemonbalm.

(In the quart jar, it’s about a tablespoon per each herb)

Add water, put lid on, & set out into the sunlight (or heck, just on the counter if it’s a cloudy day…) to infuse for a good number of hours.

  
Voila.

 
Strain the herbs from the liquid using a fine mesh sieve

  

Little bitty bits of chamomile or peppermint or lemonbalm may remain

Ehng, ’tis not a problem.

  

Add to this a quality apple juice 

…this will do quite well

  

Depending on how sweet you’d like it, I usually add anywhere from 1:3 to 1:2 tea to juice ratio

-so in case I didn’t write that out correctly, (it’s been a loooong time since I’ve been in Math class) I like it best when it’s either equal parts tea & juice or mostly tea.

Do what works for your tastebuds.

Makes a nice ice cube or Popsicle 

Perhaps add fresh basil or mint after it has chilled

Enjoy!

 

[Quiet Thoughts] Grief Again

dear Sporty dude bro.

I went for a long walk this evening

Trying to find a tree similar to one I saw this afternoon up in Oswego, NY

  
During my more-than-one-hour walk tonight, though passing at least 30 people, no words were exchanged.

The solitude was nice.

There was a sweet moment of acknowledgement between myself & a father walking with his young son – as we passed in opposite directions, the child said something funny & I laughed & so did the father 

3 seconds of eyes meeting & that was all.

Felt good to just settle into movement & senses

  
I mention all of this

Because not five minutes into a walk on a cliff overlooking Lake Ontario this afternoon

I hear a man’s voice asking me a question as I’m looking closer at a tombstone 

“Did you just take a picture of that tombstone?”  
So I stand up & turn around

And say: yes

  
Dear sporty dude bro on a bicycle,

My short answer to your question is my polite attempt to let you know that I’m not interested in having a conversation.

“Did you know him”

No.

My short answer to your other question is my second attempt to let you know that I’m not interested in having a conversation.

All due respect to local traditions, but my backing away from you is a not-so-polite way to let you know that I’m seriously not interested in hearing more about you and your friend sleeping on a grave of one of the soldiers buried here.

And then, “do you speak English?”

Yes (still backing away)

Thankfully, he then pedaled on his way  
*sigh*

And then

*whew*

I wanted to feel the water of this Great Lake

Wanted to see it’s natural rock line

But there was fencing

  
Dude bro was gone, & no one was around, AND there was a hole cut in the fence

So I crawled through it

(This is the view on the narrow strip of land between the lake & the fence, aforementioned cemetery just beyond)

  
I didn’t go down to the water

There was a steep slope of that same crushed stone used under the railroad ties

I didn’t dare not being able to scramble back up, OR being caught

I didn’t stay long

Just long enough to hear the waves 

The smell of creosote was strong from the new railroad ties

  
So again through the hole in the fence to be with great-great-great grand ancient tree for awhile

(Backpack set there to show scale)

It must have witnessed so much in its long lifetime

  
If anyone recognizes this bud/blossom, please let me know.

There were many scattered about under the canopy & it’s kinda sticky.

I had to get back home, otherwise I would have tried to find a shoreline with public access.

Perhaps another time.

So here’s a gratuitous image of Genuine kitty in her cozy new sleeping spot

 (Thank you, Jean, for the photo!)

Wishing all a peaceful night.

Blessings on the Ancients.

dreaming of Nepal.

I keep dreaming of Nepal  
Though I’ve never been there, I keep dreaming about being there.

Dreams after talking with friends last night whose daughter is in the thick of Baltimore.

Today there is the similar feeling after a loved one dies, or a great grief, and the world keeps going, & there’s a disbelief… Like moving slower through one’s day with everyone else zooming by

So, here’s a Gooder blog post I just read, please enjoy.

Blessings on this very day.

Easter potluck peeps cupcakes.

say THAT three times fast…

So… This past weekend 

I attended a friend’s Easter gathering

It was potluck – there were about 30 people there

(Hello, weak social muscles… Ready for a workout?)

I brought local root vegetables – roasted with herbs

…really liking the idea of last season’s vegetables at their tail end being transformed and offered at a joy-occasion

Like winter turning into spring… 

I found myself inspired to bring a desert

At the grocery store in late March I always wander down the seasonal aisle 

And find glee rising up when seeing all the bright colors & holiday animals & Peeps!

 

These are some of the two dozen gluten-free, vegan carrot cake cupcakes cooling near the window in the kitchen

It was a new recipe – a Gooder it turns out – and they were really fun to assemble

I’ve never made fancy cupcakes before and now I have a sense of the whole cupcake craze.

(Is that even still a thing?)

  

The frosting was colored to a pale green with vegetable dye food coloring

Brought me back to pre-school & playing with food coloring-dyed water & glass funnels

Fun fun fun

  

It was my Papa’s yortzeit that day, and this is his & Yaya’s platter, and we used to celebrate Passover at their home every year, so I felt like they were, in a way, with me…

  

Pink sprinkles (veggie dye) as flowers…

Only 20 fit on the tray

  

The remaining four would go straight into the freezer for another day

  

Okay, I know, Peeps are not vegan.

But they are easily taken off the cupcake & handed over to a carnivorous person

It was surprising to find that raw cacao nibs smell like a dairy barn

Seriously.

  

But it was only fitting since the gathering was at a dairy farm

And the cacao nibs represented the bunny poop.

If there’s a next time, though, I’ll use dark chocolate chips – they are sweeter.

Let me know if you want the recipe for the cupcakes &/or frosting.

 

Zombie spatula.

The Answer Is Never

In my life, all through my twenties & thirties & forties, people – some total strangers – would say something about my not wanting to bear a child & that I’d change my mind one day.

Now nearing mid-forties, I never have.

This blog post resonated SO much with me.

I’ve known since I was 13 years old that I didn’t want to have children.
That if I DID want to raise a child, that I would adopt,
But I’d RATHER care for animals.

It’s a long blog post, but I nodded along through the whole read, & so I’m reposting it.

Enjoy

Longreads

Sabine Heinlein | Longreads | April 2015 | 16 minutes (3,886 words)

One time, when I was in my early twenties, I shared a hospital room with a mother of many. I had a skin infection that wouldn’t respond to oral medication, and the 50-something-year-old woman had severe, inexplicable hives. Our main topic of conversation revolved around neither of our ailments. It was about my not wanting to have children. She was insistent, which seemed ironic considering her hives flared up whenever her family visited her on Sundays. I eventually compromised with the woman. Okay, I said, I will put off my decision until I reach my thirties. “You are starry-eyed,” she huffed. “You young women want it all. But you can’t have it all!” Maybe, I thought, some of us don’t want it all.

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