New Addition

Just before Halloween, we brought home a little black kitten. She is all pins and needles right now and I am covered with little wounds on my hands and legs. The funny thing about owning and aNIMAL48, (the cat just put on the caps lock and typed 48)... as I was saying- the funny think about owning an animal is that they demand attention. I tired to ignore the kitten when I got home from a nice drive with the hubby. I was hungry and wanted a snack. The cat was circling around being annoying. I just wanted a snack, when I felt a tug on the back of my pants as she climbed all up my back meowing the whole way saying, "YOU WILL NOT IGNORE ME" "Okay!" I sniped back with a huff, frustrated I put down my cracker and brie cheese and just cuddled the kitty. We both calmed down, she pranced away. As she pranced off she looked back at me and said, "You could have made that easier by saying hello with the cuddle."

flowers and a lion

Flowers from the Hubby

The text for the lion was found on a blog about spirit animals

Rumi Poem

On Friday afternoon I for the first time in months I completed a Yoga CD called Yoga Chant by Shiva Rea. I slowly twisted, and turned, and moaned, as aches throughout my body and my mind were stretched and eased.  At the end of the CD is this beautiful Rumi poem:


Remember the entrance door 
to the sanctuary is inside you. 
Love is a river 
Drink from it. 
A pearl in the shell 
does not touch the ocean. 
Be a pearl 
without a shell, 
a midful flooding 
a spark turned to flame 
bird settling nest
love lived. 

As I contemplated this poem I have discovered that it is the perfect life map for me.

1. The only place to find peace is in my own heart and I maintain the temple.
2. Love is vastly available if I want it.
3. To learn and experience more I must be brave and open
4. Find what makes me awake and spread it.
5. be in my own personal place that is home and settle there.

Rumi said to me with these easy steps love lives. I am going to use these five principles in this blog and continue my love filled life.
Cheers to being a bird, settled in nest.

Update on Holding Togehter

I rode my bike to the animal shelter to put in an application for a pet. I then rode to the library and got a library card. I love riding my bike however, this city is not designed for bikes. I am guessing it is because of the long winters, no one is riding skinny wheeled street bikes in spandex in the middle of the winter.
So there I was facing a sharp turn on the road with no sidewalk, or bike lane that was steeply down hill and curvy. My front break line was out (I should fix it). I said a short prayer and went for it, holding my back break the whole time my breaks screeching like a halk.  As you can see I made it down the hill in one piece but now from tensing my body my hips and knees feel like they could use a little oil and a professional masseur.
The bike riding should help balance out my use of butter. As for creative work, I  have been doing graphic design every Wednesday for Planned Parenthood (as a volunteer). I am re-writing my story with the edits. I finished a drawing of a lion and a mandala, just for fun and I will post it. I plan to go back to practicing the guitar today and get some pine cones to finish the Goddess table. Also for some reason I have been really dyslexic. This morning I said: My Seet are Fwolen, Does any one have any tips to help with this?
Cheers,
Me.

Stuffed Cabbage

Today I made stuffed cabbage for the first time. It is said to be a Polish dish. Which makes me wish I had some very dark Rye bread to serve with it and my friend in Tucson Michael, who is Polish to eat it. I served little red mashed potatoes instead of dark Rye bread. I am getting plumpy and not doing anything to stop the plumpy progress. To the potatoes I added butter and a dash of half and half. I best be careful as most of my jeans just fit with no room to grow. The topic being stuffed cabbage not stuffed me I will get back to the point.
I placed the whole head of cabbage in a large dish and I slow boiled it slowly, removing one leaf at a time. I eventually placed all the leaves in a dish to cool. For the filling, I picked up one pound of ground beef from the farmers market. I did discover that the cows in the north east are only grass fed part of the year due to the long winter. In such case I will not be buying beef again while I live here unless I win the lottery and can shop at Whole Foods/Whole paycheck.
For the heat in the dish I used one, very little, green and purple chili, that I bought at the farmers market. So pretty, but, for a little guy OH MY goodness he was hot. To test the heat I stuck my tongue just to the end of the chili after I cut it, off went a four alarm fire. I quickly got rid of the seeds and washed my hands, twice. One of my fingers still has a tingle. I sauteed the little chili in a little olive oil and added finely shredded carrot, ginger, garlic, clove and dried onions. (The dried onions were only because I am out of onions and to much of a fatty to ride my bike to the store and get more.) I mixed the carrot mixture, some half cooked brown rice and one egg into the ground beef. I made the little cabbage rolls drowned them in, tomato sauce water honey and clove and baked for an hour and a half. They are good and I think they will be even better tomorrow. Perhaps I should have friends over before my husband and I get more cubby with all the time on my hands. Mustn't be too chubby yet, the hubby brought me flowers when he came home.
Perhaps I should take up jogging before I have to start eating salads. No one wants to eat salads on cold New England evenings.

Learning To Be Critiqued

So any one that has been reading this blog knows I have a desire to be perfect. Well there is no wake up call to your imperfections than going to a writers group in downtown "Yaleland" with a group of professional writers all over 40.  I do give myself props for being brave.
It all started when I went to the Meetup web-sight and I uploaded my children's story to be read and critiqued. Then on a very rainy New England day, found parking, launched my umbrella and walked a few blocks to a swanky bar.
Then went down two flights of stairs to the basement of the bar. The basement was reserved for the writing group. The I gave a nervous smile, some hellos sat among people I had never met before, the critics.  The group covered both the strengths of my work, and covered what was not working. Of course, I only heard what was not working, went home and felt a little sorry for myself.  I have let some time pass and today I have began making some of the changes and am feeling excited to have some spring boards for improvement.
I am making the characters names more fitting to there behavioral characteristics. I am excited to be working.  I may not be perfect, but I am real.

p.s.
some name changes:
Cronkite=Topper Light
Jimmy= Pep Savor
Kiva= Minta Steady
Moddy= Sharpy Dapper

What do you think?

improve with white beans.

I am heading out for a writers group tonight and decided I wanted to make dinner before I left with what I had in the cupboards.
for the bean dish I used:
2 cups dry Great Northern White Beans
1 can green chillies
1 can diced tomatoes with Jalepeno
2 cloves garlic
three dried red chilies
15-20 frozen basil leaves
peanuts
Olive Oil
Red bell pepper (about one fourth)

for the Rice
1 can coconut milk
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cup organic brown rice.
To make the beans I cooked them in the rice cooker with 10 cups of water. Mean while sauteed the onion and bell pepper till soft. Then I dumped in the tomatoes and the chillies (both green and dried) and finely shredded garlic. Brought to a boil then shut if off until the beans were done. I used the olive oil the basil and the peanuts to make a pesto. When the beans were done I added them to my tomato mixture and simmered till it became a nice paste. I then stirred in my pesto. Voila-

For the rice I dumped everything in the rice cooker and am waiting for it to finish.  Hope all turns out.