Creamy Self Care

My mom's birthday is coming up and she requested another pot of the balm I make for her footsies. She also requested another pot of skin cream. She uses the cream on her face and loves it. So today, after errands, I got these things made for her ... and for me too.

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... one of the best parts of making cream is slathering the blender remains all over my body after a nice shower. It's such a deliciously decedent practice of self care ... and well deserved, if I do say so myself.

That's what I made today. Peace.

Spun Order

I made a morning of managing bills, invoices and numbers, making order of things, and doing some business review and planning. I'm still procrastinating the last leg of the income taxes though. All in good time. I made time to go back through the list from the brainstorming meeting I had a while back and started to plan and plot more herbal and art workshops for spring, summer, autumn and beyond. In years past I would have had such things planned and "inked-in" long before now. I suppose I'm just a bit more fluid in my rigidity now than I've ever been, and I'm cool with that.

I made time in the kitchen to get some osso buco (from The Farm) simmering and got the dough ready for tonight's pizza. In between I journaled words and spun some new Spirit Cords ... in the colors of winter.

That's what I made today.

Comfort in Colors

Today started with making the driveway free of snow. Thankfully The Boy took care of the bulk of that because not only did I oversleep (what that means), but I over-lounged a bit too. I headed west to meet my friend Annie at Passiflora's to share a breakfast treat and very good company. Who knew that such a relaxing time could pass so quickly, yet last so long. My ride home was peppered with an errand or two and when I got home I invested a couple of hours in some herbal and nutritional review.

When that was done I pulled out my journal and began to fill in this past weekend's doodles with some color.

I found myself gathering more than a few meaningful items on my table and I doodled some more.

Then ... I added more color.

The evening wound down as I prepared dinner to the talented tunes and voice of Chris Huff. We continued to listen as we enjoyed our leftover rib eye steak (from The Farm), served with bright orange winter squash (one of the last four from the garden), mashed potatoes with gravy, a little cranberry relish and green salad. More color. Oh, and a little Vermont Ale.

That's what I made today. Peace.

Silent Music

I've been slackin', it's true. Not only here on this blog, but in other pieces of my life as well. I feel that blank time and space is an occasional necessity. Like that box I started the other day ... still sitting in the same state in which I left it, resting easy without care or expectation as the life swirls and spins around it, like a reminder that what will be will be.

And so it is.

Yet throughout this lovely sustained dissonance, I've managed to make some fabulous lip balms with a wonderful Wicked friend, share a couple days with good Folk on sacred ground, do some cooking, crocheting, journaling and even drafting some ideas for new labeling. All these things and still dancing without motion, mind open to the fullness of emptiness, and heart beating a silent rhythm I'll catch up to soon enough.

Peace.

Mysterious Observations

I've been preoccupied lately. Productive, creative even - in my own way - yet preoccupied by something not yet defined, something not quite ripe, something forming from the mysts, something that lies beyond my vision, beyond my reach. A mystery making manifest stroke by stroke, breeze by breeze, molecule by molecule, in my presence.

Like an unfinished box ... already filled.

Peace.

Delightful Ketchup!

Today I made homemade ketchup and it is so freakin' good. Easy too. I adapted a recipe from Clara's Kitchen, my latest beloved cookbook that I received in early January. I've been following Clara for a long while on YouTube and was delighted when her book came out. I love reading and rereading her memories of the Great Depression ... and recall similar stories from my own mom and her siblings and peers. Anyway ...

Today I made my own damned ketchup and I'll never (a word I rarely use) buy the HFCS laden crap they sell commercially ever again. Not that I use it often, but The Boy does. And quite frankly, after today, I may just start using ketchup like my Dad did - on virtually everything! Anyway (again) ... if you want Clara's recipe you'll just have buy her book, or DVD. If you want to know how I made mine today, here ya go:

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1/4 cup water (more-or-less)

1 tablespoon (more-or-less) of my Fiery Cider (apple cider vinegar infused with garlic, horseradish root, ginger root, burdock root, hot pepper flakes)

1 tablespoon (more-or-less) of balsamic vinegar

1 glove of garlic, pressed

1/2 teaspoon (more-or-less) sea salt

Place it all in a bowl and stir with lots of energetic love. Serve and be delighted. That's right - delighted by ketchup!

That's what I made today. Peace.

A Little Upcycling

This afternoon I crocheted a small drawstring bag using old cassette tape (remember them?) for my yarn. The plastic case may be recyclable - I hope it is ... but at least I am able to repurpose the tape in a nice low-tech, earth-friendly way. There's something oddly pretty about it too.

Like crocheting or knitting with plarn (yarn made from plastic bags), it takes an adjusted touch to allow for a more loose and consistent tension, but - to my way of thinking - it is worth it. The Boy thought it would be funny to make CD bags like this. But he thinks lots of things are funny.

That's what I made today. Peace.

Intention in Progress

The Boy was home today and after we tended to our morning matters we gathered at the table with paints and such to create. Sharing time like this is very sweet to me. I spoke to my friend who was in that auto accident the other day and she is doing well. I plan to visit her soon and to bring along some simmering pot of healing verve ... and a little creative expression of my intentions for her. I suspect that at least one of these works-in-progress may well fit the bill.

That's what I made today.

Peace.