The Herbangardener

Kitchen / Garden / Sanctuary - Urban Homesteading to Nourish Body + Spirit

Tag: around the house (Page 18 of 27)

Gratitude Sunday * June 19, 2011

June 19, 2011 / / 2 Comments

Sunday’s a good day to remember what we’ve been grateful for over the past week, don’t you think? I’m joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition, and here’s my list:

– Relaxing by the open window, watching a thunderstorm roll in.

– Remembering, over and over, that I don’t have to get up and go to work in the morning!

– Noticing little coincidences & synchronicities in my life again. They appear when I’m in my flow & on my path, and disappear when I’m not. I hadn’t seen them in so long (during the time I was unhappy in my job & knowing that I should quit), that I’d almost forgotten about them! It’s fun to see them again — they always feel like confirmation that I’m right on track…right where I’m supposed to be.

– Though still extremely busy, I’m feeling a lot more balance in my life, and almost zero stress.(!)

– Discovering that doing contract work from home is really my thing. I’m in charge of my time! What a concept!

– Being home during the day to enjoy SUMMER!

– Eating heaps of beautiful garden lettuce, and stuffing it into body-nourishing green smoothies.

– Going to the Gay Pride parade with my Hubby…it was so fun! The vibe was neat — a huge gathering of open-minded folks, where everyone could be whoever they were and everyone was totally OK with that. Families were there, with toddlers yelling “Happy Pwide Day!”

***

– The most wonderful day hanging out one-on-one with my dad, going to one of our favorite nature-places. He is such a great dad; I really cherish him. And it was so special to have some one-on-one time together out in nature. We both absolutely loved it!

I packed a picnic for us of Spanakopita, Moroccan Carrot Salad, grapes, and Finnish Cardamom Cupcakes (recipe coming soon). Yum! We ate lunch in a gazebo out on a lake, reachable by the boardwalk above.

*****

What about you? What have you been grateful for this week? Leave a comment!

*****

Gratitude Sunday * June 12, 2011

June 12, 2011 / / 3 Comments

Sunday’s a good day to remember what we’ve been grateful for over the past week, don’t you think? I’m joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition, and here’s my list:

– Sticking my head out the window just in time to see a big shooting star fly across the night sky.

– Not having to get up and go to work on a weekday!!!!

– Baking cookies in my solar oven. I love how I can now have baked cookies in the summertime without heating up the house with our regular oven!

– Loads of fresh oregano on my Greek salad. How could I go back to dried now that I’ve used fresh!?

– Getting a lot of backed-up garden work done this week/weekend. Feeling like I’ve got a much better handle on the garden.

– Deciding to bow out of a weekend trip to a family reunion that I didn’t really want to go to, and knew I wasn’t up for anyway. Listening to my body; respecting its limits right now and not ignoring them.

– House sitting for my parents (they were at the reunion) this weekend and being able to do more garden work, hang out with my cat, and quietly relax outside in the oasis-like backyard.

– Playing lots of piano at mom & dad’s house, with no one listening to hear my mistakes! It’s my grandma’s baby grand piano…so special…shipped out to Colorado for me when I was a year old by my granddad. I think he even helped pay for piano lessons, too. I hated those dang lessons, but am so thankful I was forced into them, because I love being able to play the piano — I’m so thankful for that! It’s a real stress release, and very centering and satisfying. It just felt so good to play this weekend… especially good… and I could have just kept going and going.

– Getting some new clothes at the thrift store. Clothes shopping is not a favorite activity, but I need some new items, and the thrift store is always my first (and usually only!) stop. And I love how I can go about my shopping and not get asked ten times, “Are you finding everything OK miss?”

Got a laugh out of this sign at the thrift store!

– Being outdoors on a cool, fresh morning.

– So much beautiful garden lettuce that we’re eating salad after salad, straight from the garden and into our stomachs. I don’t know what I get more of — nutrition, or JOY!

– Adding heaps of fresh herbs to my salads — parsley, oregano, dill, and cilantro. Herbs are so potent and healing and full of vitamins and minerals and I feel so good putting them straight from the plant into my body. They are medicine!

– Drinking steaming tea, outside, in the cool air, at twilight.

– Inhaling the sweet, blossom-filled June air as I ride my bike through it.

– Getting stuck at the neighborhood garden center during a thunderstorm!

Rode home from the garden center with a couple nice big heirloom tomato plants.

– Feet up & a big glass of fresh mint iced tea after wearing myself out in the garden.

– Watching my cat sleeping soundly this morning after a rough night chasing moths.

– Coming home to my Hubby after the weekend away house sitting. It was SO, so good to see him!!! It’s so nice just laughing and being together. I’m the luckiest girl ever…

*****

What about you? What are you grateful for this week? Leave a comment!

*****

Gratitude Sunday * June 5, 2011

June 5, 2011 / / 2 Comments

Sunday’s a good day to remember what we’ve been grateful for over the past week, don’t you think? I’m joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition, and here’s my list:

– Being able to hang very low this week and not having to worry about calling in sick to a job.

– Letting my body sleep as much as it needs. I am so grateful for that luxury.

– The peony flower that scents the entire bedroom! I think that old fashioned pink peonies are one of my favorite scents on Earth!

– That my hubby knows so, so much about computers and can fix anything that ails them; his knowledge absolutely blows me away.

– The feeling of a warm summer evening.

– That my veggie garden is growing so well, and that even though it’s a very buggy year in general so far, the aphids are being completely controlled by beneficial bugs and I don’t need to do anything whatsoever. I truly appreciate this!!!

– More solar cooking. This week, more black beans, spinach, and sprouted lentils cooked with chicken bone broth, a bay leaf, and a clove of garlic left whole — one of my very favorite dishes!

– A nice little bike ride with F., over to see my parents & neighbor today, on this beautiful 80-degree day.

– My mom giving us a ride to the store today to do our grocery shopping — we felt pampered!!

What about you? What have you been grateful for this week? Leave a comment!

*****

Gratitude Sunday * May 29, 2011

May 29, 2011 / / 8 Comments

Sunday’s a good day to remember what we’ve been grateful for over the past week, don’t you think? I’m joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition, and here’s my list:

– That we live close to everything we need, don’t need to own a car, and can transport ourselves by bike, foot, and occasionally bus.

– The library!!

– The good, nourishing food in our fridge.

– The sun flooding into our apartment in the evening…and our apartment in general; it’s the top floor of a 100-year-old house and has charming vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows. It’s a neat space.

– Grateful to be in my garden — instead of a cubicle — on a Friday afternoon.

– Incredible garden produce we’ve been harvesting! It makes my soul sing to be able to eat straight out of the garden.

– Wasps — they’re irritating and aggressive, but they sure do take care of the aphids!

– Lushness and greenery everywhere thanks to all the rain.

– My wonderful Hubby stopping at the store on his way home this week to bring me groceries that I didn’t feel well enough to get myself.

– Not having to report to a supervisor at work…and not feeling like someone’s slave anymore.

– Quiet, still moments.

– Sitting by candlelight, not caring how late it is, Federico Aubele in my headphones, writing in my journal, rain falling outside.

– Watching my cat have a party with the catnip I picked for her!

– This time of the year.

– Bit the bullet and got a dreaded, long-overdue doctor appointment over-with. I don’t see eye-to-eye with so much of western medicine, but I feel grateful for the doctor I have. I’ve never really needed to go see him before, but he’s good. And instead of leaving the appointment feeling scrambled, drained, and off-balance as I usually do after a doctor visit, I left there feeling calm and centered…and feeling like I’m in good hands. And I appreciated that he listened intently and took all the time that was needed for me to lay everything out.

– Testing out my new ultralight solar cooker “design” (reflective windshield sunshade & a binder clip!) by cooking black beans, brown rice, and a rhubarb crisp; a total success!

Rhubarb crisp baking in the solar cooker

Solar-cooked, homegrown rhubarb crisp!

What about you? What have you been grateful for this week? Leave a comment!

*****

Our City Dawn Chorus

May 24, 2011 / / 4 Comments

I love when I happen to wake up early enough to hear the early-morning birds, before the noise of the city starts up. Last Sunday morning I awoke and decided to record our dawn chorus because it’s so beautiful!

I really love birdsong. I come from a long line of bird watchers and nature lovers…my dad would take me on nature walks as a little kid, pointing out whose nest was whose (my favorite was the oriole’s sweat-sock nest!), and whose song we were hearing around us (my favorite was the red-winged blackbird). Hearing birdsong is one of my true, deep pleasures in life!

Here’s the sound of our city dawn chorus, with the hollow — almost haunting — song of robins.

Does it sound like yours? Is it different? Who sings at dawn in your neighborhood?

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 The Herbangardener

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑