May 16, 2009
When I was a kid there was no steamed milk. Can you remember those dark, deprived old days? :-) Always grateful for a delicious cuppa. Enjoy your day, whatever your drink.

When I was a kid there was no steamed milk. Can you remember those dark, deprived old days? :-) Always grateful for a delicious cuppa. Enjoy your day, whatever your drink.

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May 10, 2009
Happy Mother’s Day to All!

Happy Mother’s Day to All!

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May 7, 2009
Bloom wherever you’re planted.

Bloom wherever you’re planted.

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May 5, 2009
A Sitting Place at SRF Gardens Overlooking the Sea

A Sitting Place at SRF Gardens Overlooking the Sea

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May 3, 2009
Yep, I learned to make bread…the first loaf Thanks to Mare of Moon & Stars Studio, I’ve learned to mix up a batch of dough, let it rise, refrigerate it, take it out and form a ball, rest it, and bake it.  It’s seriously that easy. This technique is from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. And it does.  Up until now I’ve made only brick-loaf, a specialty passed down from mother to child in my family.  But now I have…warm bread for breakfast, fresh bread for sandwiches for lunch, and warm bread for the family for dinner. And the low-carb diet is out the window and I’m ordering larger pants. (Just Kidding) And although I’ve spent $60 on the book, the pizza paddle (“peel”), an oven thermometer, and flour, I am about to never have to buy a store loaf again.  Which is too bad for Orowheat and Roman Meal, but good for my family.  Because now I get to put my favorite ingredient in their bread…LOVE! Nothing spells lovin’ like bread from the oven. The bread tastes so good, there just aren’t adequate adjectives for it.  You’ll have to fill them in yourself. This bread is ____________, __________, ________, and ____________. Did I mention there’s no need for kneading?  No reason to punch?  No proof that proofing the yeast works?  Yes, now making bread is as easy as…making bread. Thanks, Mare.  You and bloggers like you are a constant inspiration to me!  I wish we could all meet and have coffee, maybe in some centrally-located place like Kansas. I’ve always wanted to go to Kansas. But I will never knit like you do.

Yep, I learned to make bread…the first loaf

Thanks to Mare of Moon & Stars Studio, I’ve learned to mix up a batch of dough, let it rise, refrigerate it, take it out and form a ball, rest it, and bake it.  It’s seriously that easy.

This technique is from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. And it does.  Up until now I’ve made only brick-loaf, a specialty passed down from mother to child in my family.  But now I have…warm bread for breakfast, fresh bread for sandwiches for lunch, and warm bread for the family for dinner. And the low-carb diet is out the window and I’m ordering larger pants. (Just Kidding) And although I’ve spent $60 on the book, the pizza paddle (“peel”), an oven thermometer, and flour, I am about to never have to buy a store loaf again.  Which is too bad for Orowheat and Roman Meal, but good for my family.  Because now I get to put my favorite ingredient in their bread…LOVE!

Nothing spells lovin’ like bread from the oven.

The bread tastes so good, there just aren’t adequate adjectives for it.  You’ll have to fill them in yourself.

This bread is ____________, __________, ________, and ____________.

Did I mention there’s no need for kneading?  No reason to punch?  No proof that proofing the yeast works?  Yes, now making bread is as easy as…making bread.

Thanks, Mare.  You and bloggers like you are a constant inspiration to me!  I wish we could all meet and have coffee, maybe in some centrally-located place like Kansas.

I’ve always wanted to go to Kansas. But I will never knit like you do.

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April 30, 2009
Hanging Cactus at Self Realization Fellowship Gardens This cactus caught my eye last week at the meditation gardens.  I swear the colors of the flowers there are digitally enhanced! The brothers who tend the garden do such careful work.  They are quiet and rarely interact with visitors, intent upon their jobs.  One day three of them were cleaning the koi pond as I meditated.  Wearing thigh-high wading boots, they cleaned as the giant koi swam about them. Visiting the gardens this time of year is less of a quiet meditation experience and more an experience of sharing.  Everyone visits and they talk and talk in many different languages…it’s a good thing, but different than the winter months when it’s more peaceful. Did I tell you about Yogananda’s lap pool?  It’s still there.  An empty, small, blue square pool with colorful tile wall backing it and a small grass lawn around it.  It is one of the most revered spots there.  I love to sit beside it and look at the ocean and surfers as I say my mantras silently.  It really is a deeply profound place.  I can just imagine him swimming slow laps. Yogananda loved so many aspects of all different religions, you feel that he’s just there still as an encouraging, loving friend. Thank you, dear SRF friends, for keeping these gardens open!

Hanging Cactus at Self Realization Fellowship Gardens

This cactus caught my eye last week at the meditation gardens.  I swear the colors of the flowers there are digitally enhanced! The brothers who tend the garden do such careful work.  They are quiet and rarely interact with visitors, intent upon their jobs.  One day three of them were cleaning the koi pond as I meditated.  Wearing thigh-high wading boots, they cleaned as the giant koi swam about them.

Visiting the gardens this time of year is less of a quiet meditation experience and more an experience of sharing.  Everyone visits and they talk and talk in many different languages…it’s a good thing, but different than the winter months when it’s more peaceful.

Did I tell you about Yogananda’s lap pool?  It’s still there.  An empty, small, blue square pool with colorful tile wall backing it and a small grass lawn around it.  It is one of the most revered spots there.  I love to sit beside it and look at the ocean and surfers as I say my mantras silently.  It really is a deeply profound place.  I can just imagine him swimming slow laps.

Yogananda loved so many aspects of all different religions, you feel that he’s just there still as an encouraging, loving friend.

Thank you, dear SRF friends, for keeping these gardens open!

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