Keeping the Fire

Two weekends ago, I attended the first ever California Women of Color Herbal Symposium.  My first impulse was to come home and blog about it right away. But then I thought, "Let me just sit back a minute and let it sink in".  So often, we as people will experience something wondrous, and immediately declare it life changing, only to find that a few days later, it was not.  Within a short period of time we are back to our old patterns.

At the symposium, I was able to get back to some things I have loved and really missed doing. To study plant medicine, exchange knowledge and give thanks for all the beauty that surrounds me.  To sit in complete silence by a river. Something I haven't really done since I was a teen.  To be with people who get this journey I'm on, without having to explain myself or apologize for being who I am. Through the Rite of the Womb, led by Melbra Watts, to be able to contemplate what I want in my life and what I don't.  There at the river I experienced the freedom to let go of what was no longer serving me.  

Prior to the retreat I had a pretty healthy diet which I already begun to transform even further to suit my needs.  The meals at the symposium were amazingly delicious, vegetarian and sometimes vegan meals, exclusively, and really showed me what I had forgotten was possible.

Immediately upon returning home, I experienced a transformation in my relationships with my husband and son, quite to their delight, I might add.  Creatively, I found myself inspired and my mind inundated with fresh ideas. In the back of my mind, though, was a slight fear of losing this feeling. The threat of returning to the status quo. I have decided, however, that this doesn't need to happen. I also thought for this blog entry, that rather than rehash in detail what I experienced at the herbal symposium, it would be more helpful to talk about how I am keeping my momentum.

The main thing I am doing when the temptation arises to fall into old habits with family, is remember what it felt like to see their faces when I shifted from criticism to loving understanding. 
I quite like it. 

So,  in situations when I feel my temper rising, I am reminding myself I can chose a better feeling.

The second key thing, is giving thanks, every morning.  Again, I had done this in the past, but it had fallen by the wayside. At the opening ceremony, one of the teachers, Patricia St. Onge, led us in reciting a sort of prayer that she had learned from her Mohawk heritage. Find a link to similar one that I've kept in my meditation space for a few years, and have reactivated here: https://www.syracuseculturalworkers.com/products/poster-greetings-and-thanks-to-the-natural-world

Third thing I have realized I need to anchor this change, is time to myself. Whether it be 10 minutes of meditation in the morning or an hour long solitary walk, (preferably both).  I am finding that if I neglect this for more than a day I feel very much out of sorts. After a two or three days I start to feel and act like a martyr.  So this is now non-negotiable. One Joan of Arc is enough.

I'm sending out a big thank you to Tanya Henderson, Kanchan Dawn Hunter and everyone who participated in the California Women of Color Herbal Symposium for helping bring me back to myself. Using these practices, along with making conscious choices as to what I put into my body and mind, I feel the effect of attending this retreat will be with me for the long run.

Now You Know What I Did Last Summer

I case any of you were wondering if I had fallen off the face of the Earth or maybe had just plain given up my blog, neither is true.

My family and I kept it kind of close to home this summer, no far flung adventures, just home improvement nesty kind of endeavors.  We repainted our deck and went on a fruitless search for outdoor furniture cushions.  This was an excuse for me to get a new sewing machine-- which I love!  Who knew the technology had so far to advance?  Before, I was happy to have my grandma's "new" machine (25 years old), that made button holes automatically.  My new machine does that too,  plus threads itself, tells me what pressure foot and needle to use for any given stitch, and probably would give me relationship advice if I asked it--. Suffice it to say, it made making new cushions for our patio furniture pretty easy.

I also decided to take my love affair with fresh produce from the farmer's market to the next level...canning.  Through all my formative years growing up in my grandmother's house, I watched her faithfully "put up" oodles of stone fruits from the local orchards and boysenberries  from our own backyard every summer. We would eat them joyfully all winter long.  It seemed like a daunting, complicated endeavor, but for some reason, this summer, I felt like I was up to it.  It was really fun, relatively easy, and now I'm kind of obsessed. I've got two new problems, though, not enough storage space, and trying not to open and eat everything before winter.   Not that everything turned out perfectly,  I made an awesome marinara,  a tasty salsa, and some of the best strawberry preserves I've ever had.   A peach preserve that I my son loved, but that I felt could be improved. Then one that I liked, but he hates, and an EPIC failure of a cherry preserve.  It tastes good, but it's so firm I'm not sure how we are going to get it out of the jar, maybe with heat and a sledge hammer?

Anyway here are a few pictures of the fruits of my labor, (pun intended).

A Different View of the Eclipse

Psychedelic paint job?  Nope, just the sun and the moon dancing in the trees.

After having had a rather un-fun afternoon of mediating a play date between my  grumpy son and his sweet long -suffering friend.  I needed a bit of a break.  Shooting these interesting shadows during today's eclipse, cast on various objects around the outside of our home, were the highlight of my day. 

What Became of the Squash?

About a week and a half ago I asked for ideas of what to do with my last winter squash.  I won't say that I was overwhelmed with responses... but my old friend Mohri did answer the call.   He identified it as a Turban squash, and said that the older specimens could sometimes be bitter and that my best option was to steam it.  So steam it I did, and then I pureed it to make a single serving of soup for my son, Julian who was not feeling well.  As Mohri had predicted, it was somewhat bitter.  So, I seasoned it with salt, pepper, turmeric, ginger, and a little maple syrup.  Julian was underwhelmed... He said, "it's right between I don't like it and good."  So....I swirled a teaspoon of agave on top.  He immediately said "ummm, that's good now",  and ate it up.  So, I guess it's still true...a spoon full of sugar does make the medicine go down.

Coco---dream crusher.

So perfect

On a side note, when I split open the squash I noticed the bottom made a perfect little bowl.  I'm a sucker for unique looking vessels, so I decided to dry and preserve it.  I had also sorts of plans to put it on my dresser to hold jewelry or some other small treasure.  I set it out on the table to dry as pictured here, then went on about my day.  Later that afternoon I noticed my dog, Coco, walking around the back yard  chewing and looking guilty.... I found what was left of my project on a pile of leaves under our bay tree. Guess, I'll have to wait 'til next year to fulfill my creative reuse fantasy.

Calling All Creative Minds

Well folks, there you have it.  Pictured below, (artfully presented by my 101 yr. old grandmother's hand), is the last of our  winter squash from Full Belly Farm, our CSA.  The question is: what do I do with it?  It has adorned my table in a basket for the last couple of months, while its less flashy companions have been eaten;  sauteed, roasted, in soups, in curries.  I'm pretty proud of myself that this is the last one, because frankly,  I'm more of a summer squash gal.  I have to be honest though,  my friend, Makini, has taken a couple of them off my hands.  But now here I am left, end of the season, uninspired, with one last squash of indeterminate variety.  So what is it to be?  Food?  Household decor? What?

Calling all urban farm girls, crafters, and culinary geniuses!  This includes guys, too, (although I don't think I want to blow it up, or drop it off a tall building...but I'm open).  Post your ideas in the comment section.  I will pick one, and show you the result here in this blog.  Sooner rather than later, please,  because although they keep for months,  I think the clock is ticking on this specimen.