coming to an understanding…….

I have slept and still I ruminate so I need to blog. I sit with my tea this morning and think back to my experiences this past weekend at work and how they have left me empty in so many ways. It is not a new feeling, but it surfaces from time to time and we all feel it. It eats at us for a few days and then we accept it and move on because we know that nothing will be different except in how we deal or reckon with it.

I won't get into detail except to say that the conditions that we all worked under this weekend were ones that stretched our abilities to the maximum. What we are expected to deliver as a health care professionals under normal circumstances, we were not capable of over the past several days.
The frustration set in early on Friday and I recall standing in front of a co-worker and my eyes filling with tears while I said "I know I'm not doing a good job today as a nurse". And it barely got much better over the next two days.

We all have standards that are both professional and personal regarding our careers and mine personally mean a lot to me. It's what lends me to be the nurse that I have become over the past 36 years. I'm not naive to know that there will be days that are more difficult than others and circumstances that will challenge us. We are trained to deal with all of that and yet this past weekend we found ourselves in situations that took us even further.

My biggest let down is the lack of support that I felt from my own organization. Nothing that filtered down to me the nurse on the front line. For me this could have gone a long way in letting me know that they knew just how hard we were pushing to keep things going so that our patients were being looked after. But I wasn't allowed that privilege even once.

As I thought about all of this after a well deserved rest I was led back to a book that I read so many years ago. A book that I have bought at least 4 times and keep giving it away to someone who might need it more than me. A book that has been so much on my mind lately that when I ordered a Christmas gift online I tucked this little book into the order with it. The book is called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. The basis of this little book is simple. There are four agreements that we can use in our lives to help us to navigate through life in a more understanding fashion. They are as follows :

1. Be impeccable with your word.
2. Don't take anything personally.
3. Don't make assumptions.
4. Always do your best.

Three of the four, and maybe even all four apply following my weekend of work.

There is a part of me that wanted to be less than impeccable and scream at someone about all of this and yet I know quite well that my efforts would have been less than well received and there are times that I believe proper delivery of word is key to getting your point across. Sometimes even less words have more of an impact than too many.

There is a tendency to 'take this personally' and this is often the tough one to let go of. I have to remember that decisions made at a level above me are not directed at me 'personally' and not even as a collective group, but rather are made from a completely different perspective. One that I may not feel is right, but then remembering that I have no control over that.

I had the silly 'assumption' that when we were working under such extreme conditions that it would have been nice for someone to have come along and showed or expressed just how much our efforts meant. Once again I only need to re-read # 3. "Don't make assumptions" because in assuming I will inevitably be let down…… and I was. So feeling let down is my own fault.

Now # 4 is the biggie! Always do your best even when its under difficult conditions. This can be a challenge because a person really has to focus on what is happening in the moment of delivering patient care and forget about how frustrated you might be. Just do the task at hand and do it well. It is with this understanding that I do my best that I am able to leave each shift and go home knowing that I did the best that I could given the circumstances that I worked under.

So maybe this all happened so that I will sit down again with this little book and read it once more. These four simple agreements are good mantras to keep in mind on this journey that we call Life.

May your day be filled with love & light.

Maggie

my tea party…...

I've done it for years. It is my normal routine to get up for work early enough that I can do it, and even if I am not working I take the time for it ……. a tea party that is. A tea party for myself to begin my day. I love the quiet solitude of early morning and for me it lends itself to beginning my day in balance
which then in turn sets me up to have a good day. Now, it doesn't always follow through that way but I at least begin each day the same. I'm never rushed since I get myself up early enough to allow for it and all the other things that need to happen on a work day especially. Some people would rather sleep, while I would rather have this time to myself. I know some of my friends or co-workers think I am a bit crazy to do that but it's important for me to have this time and it starts my day off perfectly. As much as I am physically alone I most often will be reading so in fact there is usually someone invited to my tea party. Any number of authors have sat in on my tea parties and over the years I have learned much and shared in many stories. I love to read but my days leave little time to share in that so early morning is my 'reading time'. Books are a passion for me and to have a book in my hands is a wonderful thing. I don't think that I would ever own a Kindle or reading apparatus such as that because the tactile experience of having a book in my hands is not something that I would want to give up. Ok, I admit I have a kindle app on my phone which I thought might be a distraction while waiting for an appointment or such, but I usually forget that it's there and end up reading something interesting in a magazine instead. Maybe I was a writer in a former life as I love the ability to put words to paper and create something that someone else would enjoy. Words can be such a powerful thing. I read a lot of non-fiction and this feeds my constant desire to learn but I try to squeeze in a bit of fiction from time to time to allow myself to escape and be entertained also.

I remember in my younger years as a mom that I would get  up early and have my then coffee party (I don't drink coffee anymore) before any of the children awoke so that I could have some time to myself before the busy days of motherhood took over. I also treasure the memories I have of the tea parties that I had when I owned my bookshop and I would sit in my cosy chair in the shop and be amongst all those books! It was heaven for me! I could walk up to any shelf and pull a book and open up to any page and read. Sometimes I would take my tea party on the road and find a coffee shop where the atmosphere was of good energy and I would take my book there and sip on my tea. Most of my tea parties are now in my home which is my special place on Mother Earth.

Invited to my tea parties lately has been author Carolyn Myss as I am re-reading her book The Creation of Health that is also co-authored with Norman Shealy. Two amazing people that bring so much knowledge to the world of health and wellness. But I may have to share in my morning authors as I have a book waiting at the library for me by Jenna Woginrich called One Woman Farm which chronicles her transition from city cubicle to rural homesteading. Should be a great read!

My tea parties always have a special mug or tea pot which have changed over the years. I recently acquired a special set, on sale of course, and I'm sure it will be with me for years to come. It's tea party perfect!

 I think I will always make time for a tea party in my life. It's just that special to me. I hope you find the time to spend a few quiet moments for yourself before you begin your day. Namaste…….. Maggie 

childhood soup….

It's a funny thing because there is little that I remember from my childhood for various reasons that would relate to a completely different blog post, but one thing I do remember is my mother making us homemade tomato soup that was absolutely delicious! As a matter of fact until I was an adult I never tasted a tomato soup other than this one. When I made this soup for my first husband he quickly said "this doesn't taste like tomato soup at all", because he was used to Campbells soup! I remember being so disappointed at the time but I understood what he meant. It dropped of our menu sadly. As a child we rarely had soup out of a can and I can truly say that I was raised on amazing soups! I was never given the recipe on paper and only learned from watching her make it time after time.

I made it just the other day for our dinner and served it simply with a baguette and some cheese and it was wonderful! All you need are flour, butter, tomato juice, water, a little salt and pepper and this time I added some cream and you will have the most delicious soup ever. I am lucky enough to have my own canned tomatoes which brings the summer flavour home in the cold winter months. I also this time used a few sage leaves that I dried from the garden to sauté in the butter and then added them again while it simmered at the end and the flavour was delicately tinged with the sage and yet did not overpower the tomato. The cream added at the end made it perfect! I wish I could give you the ingredient portions but that is not to be. It is only in my head and depends on how much tomato juice you have. 

I wish you could share in a bowl with me as it's also made with 'Love'……

I hope your day is filled with wonderful flavours and that they might be reminiscent of a time gone by.

Maggie xoxo

a great book…..

I love to read and yet I haven't had a book in my hands for quite some time now. At least not a book just for the pleasure of reading and relaxation. There was a book that I have had my eye on for many months and I recently decided I was going to buy it and then I searched it online at our local library and they had it! Perfect! I picked it up on Tuesday and once I had started into the first few pages I couldn't put it down and finished it the next day!  I was spellbound by the writings of a woman who was experiencing something that I somehow related to. If you read on you will wonder how that works since she became a farmer and I am not that at all, but I am certain that in any one of my many former lives that I was that pioneer woman who lived off the land and lived a life not unlike hers. It was just all too familiar to me for it to be less than true.

The book tells of a woman from the big city of New York who leaves what she knows as her comforts and heads to the country to follow a man and his passion for farming. My intrigue with all of this was the transition from the complexity of city living, to the simplicity of a bucolic lifestyle. That impression I must say is a superficial one because we all know that any lifestyle will have its difficulties and complications that will lend itself to anything but simplicity. I though, viewed it in it's most simplest of terms for myself. I live in an small city compared to many and it's really not all that demanding on me. I traverse through my life fairly well but I am longing for that time in my life when things can slow down and be less demanding of my time. Maybe it's because I am in my late 50's and I have lived the 'busy' life, with a career that I still participate in and raising three children in my former years and now I have a longing to change it's pace. There will always be demands but we can choose what that will look like and then the outcomes are so very different. My story isn't much different than many others out there, but for me I feel 'my time' is arriving. It's becoming far more important for me to look at life and realize what I need from it to make me happy. I have so much already in place that makes my life a happy one but the one thing that I long for is a life in the country. This is so ironic in ways because I grew up as a child in the country and felt that it restricted me so much that when I married and moved to the city I vowed I would never, ever live in the country again! Ever! But that pioneer woman inside of me is telling me now to go back. Oh how things change, and then we change and then life also changes. 

The 'call' to someday return to country living is what drew me to this book. The woman in the book left the hectic life of the big city, but for her it was the city life that she knew so well and then in turn was not difficult for her because for her it rang with familiarity. She moved to the country and began a new life that was very unfamiliar to her and at first filled with so many different types of demands, but over time she knew that her heart was happiest in this environment living the life that she chose and that 'her' time had arrived in life. I came to understand that at the end of each day it is what we choose to fill our life with that makes the difference. As I read through the pages of her story that had me so very riveted, I knew that what she had chosen was bigger than anything I would ever undertake at this time in my life, but it reinforced my understanding of what it means to choose a life that you are happy with. It's so important to choose things in life that are of course responsible, but also those that feed our soul and make us happy. We know deep down what they are and it's a matter of listening to that inner voice and taking that step even though sometimes it will feel risky and those first few steps will feel like you are wearing a new shoe instead of the comfort of one that is well broken in. Kristen in the the book followed her heart and many times might have questioned her choice, but in the end she knew that it was what she needed to do. I loved the conviction she had in making this the life she needed for herself. It makes me believe that I can have my country life or a resemblance of such and live out my years more quietly and more simply. Every life has its challenges and yet it's all about choice and what we decide to make of it. The author chose a life that her heart embraced and I have much of that now. I am looking for just one more piece of the puzzle to finish it and it will manifest when it is ready. Until then I choose to participate less with a hectic lifestyle and live simply instead. 

I hope that your choices are ones that your heart embraces. 

Btw…..the book is titled "The Dirty Life" by Kristin Kimball. Check out her website for more info on her book and her life on Essex Farm.

Blessings, 

Maggie

best ever cream of mushroom soup….

It was several years back when my daughter Brianne was away at school that she came across this recipe for mushroom soup. She tried it herself and then she passed it on to me after raving about how good it was and I have been making it from that time on and it is the best mushroom soup ever! It is very simple to make, the ingredient list is not long and you might very well have most of them in your pantry except for the fresh mushrooms.

Just this past week Brianne was stopping in for lunch during her workday and she was thinking that mushroom soup might be tasty. I hadn't' made it in a while so off I went to the grocer's and actually found organic mushrooms on sale so I scooped them up right away and returned home to begin making the soup. It really is a quick and easy recipe and before I knew it we were sitting down to a delicious bowl of homemade mushroom soup!

I tend to use the white button mushrooms and have used crimini also, but do give other types a try too.

Here are some mushroom facts & tips:

• a few cultivated varieties such as white button, crimini, portobello, and enoki can be eaten raw
• most wild varieties should be cooked to ensure food safety
• contain potassium, copper, selenium and are a good source of certain B vitamins
• recent research shows they have powerful phytonutrient potential 
• choose only whole and dry mushrooms with spongy, firm, plump caps
• refrigerate in a paper bag, often provided by the grocer
• if they come from the grocer in plastic as mine did, transfer them to a paper bag for storage with the exception of beech and enoki that will do well in their original container
• most mushrooms can be cleaned with a soft cloth or a vegetable brush
• if you need to rinse them use as little water as possible to prevent nutrient loss and changes in texture
• to reconstitute dry mushrooms cover with hot water and let soak for 30 minutes. These mushrooms will have a chewier consistency and the broth can be used in soups or stews.

It's time to share the recipe with all of you now and I hope you give it a try and love it as much as we do!

I think it was the first time I had noticed organic mushrooms at my local grocer and I was not only thrilled with that but they were on sale so that was even better!

Chop the mushrooms up into whatever size you like to serve in your soup. These were quite large so I ended up cutting them in half. I do like the look of whole slices in the soup for a nice presentation.

Saute them in the butter for several minutes until they become nice and soft.

Whisk the flour into the broth. Since my daughter is vegetarian I always use a veggie broth but you can use chicken or probably even beef broth if you want to enhance the flavour at bit more. She is also gluten sensitive so I use a gluten free flour for her and it works just as well.

Stir the broth into the mushroom mixture and keep stirring until it thickens. Add your cream and watch it become a lovely consistency.

Voila! A delicious bowl of soup ready for your lunch or a first course for dinner. I think it rates as good as any soup you will find on a restaurant menu! Yes, it's that good! 

Best Ever Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 tbsp butter

3 cups mushrooms

1 3/4 cups broth (of your choice)

6 tbsp flour 

1 cup cream

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper 

Melt your butter on medium-high heat and add the mushrooms and stir until tender. Turn the heat down to medium. 

Combine the flour and broth in a separate bowl until smooth. 

Add to the mushrooms and stir until it begins to thicken nicely. 

Add the cream and continue to stir until it is fully incorporated, then add the salt and pepper. 

Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, stirring often. 

Serves 2 good sized bowls of soup.

I hope you will give it a try and let me know how it turns out! Enjoy!!

Maggie

soul baking…….

We are working again on our tile floor this weekend and it's the kind of work that sometimes can be a tandem job for two or it's for one person only. Yesterday we did all the cutting for the hallway so I did all the measuring and marking while Kelly worked the tile saw. It works as a good partnership to get the job done. Today though is the laying of the tile and it's strictly a one person job which Kelly is the master of and that suits me fine. This leaves me though with time on my hands and can limit me in what I might choose to do since the house is in a state of upheaval. The last weekend that we tiled together the kitchen was the focus of our work but since that is now complete I can busy myself there and create. I truly love baking so I was more than happy to open my cupboards and see what I could mix together in a bowl and concoct. Being in the kitchen creating is my idea of time well spent. I love to get lost in my experiences there and allow it to feed my soul. An afternoon of baking therapy is often just what I need. And I need not worry about all those calories since most of the time when it comes to baked goods I barely even touch a morsel of it since I don't partake of sugar as a rule but I enjoy the process of the creation. I decided since the cookie jar was empty I should possibly fill it with some fresh chocolate chip cookies and then I moved on to a banana walnut bread since my freezer is filling up with bananas. After that was done I flipped some more pages in the recipe book and came up with a quick brownie recipe that will head to the freezer for lunches along with the slices of the banana loaf. I love having a selection of ingredients at hand that will turn themselves into a tasty cookie or loaf or bread etc. and not only does it end up feeding your taste buds and belly, but it also feeds your soul. For me it's called baking therapy and this is a good thing……and I like good things.

Here is my banana walnut loaf recipe that I have been making for probably over 25 years…….

Banana Walnut Loaf

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 9 x 5" loaf pan.

2 large ripe bananas
1/3 cup soft margarine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/4 cup hot water
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans if you like them better)

1. In a bowl beat bananas and margarine; beat in sugar, egg, egg white and water until smooth.
2.Combine flour and baking soda; stir into batter and all but a few of the nuts, mixing until just blended.
   Do not overmix. Pour into pan; arrange reserved nuts down the middle of the batter mixture. Bake for
   35-45 minutes or until a tester inserted into the centre comes out dry.

I try to use organic ingredients whenever I can and I have also interchanged gluten-free all purpose flour in this recipe and it turned out great. You could even add some raisins if you wanted to. I usually will make two loaves at the same time since the oven is hot anyway and there is plenty of room for two pans. It's just simply more efficient. One loaf can then stay on the counter for snacking on and the other can head to the freezer.

I hope your Saturday is a good one and that you will do something that will feed your soul …...

Maggie

first snow…..

There is something about the first snowfall that makes me reflect on the seasons of change. I can feel it begin in late Summer and early Autumn with the transformation of the trees turning into brilliant washes of colour and jewel like hues of reds, yellow and orange. We all have that experience when we witness that particular tree that will present with the colour changes earlier than any other. We all know that tree and it is our marker that Autumn is beckoning. It is the signal for the others to follow along and landscapes mature into Mother Nature's own artwork painted on the canvas of Mother Earth allowing us to share in postcard moments at a whim. It truly is a gift that behooves us to take a moment and be present to enjoy the beauty for it will not last as the next season is gesturing for its turn also.
The rains and wind of the season will then often arrive and strip the trees of their resplendent foliage leaving only the stark silhouette of it's original form that was so ready in Spring to burst forth with green. I am reminded of lace-like patterns when I see them standing so beautifully in a field against a clear sky of winter blue or one that may have snow clouds on the horizon. And then it happens….. the snow arrives. Whether it be of consequence or just a light dusting it heralds the fact that Winter is going to be upon us soon. This morning offered that moment for me as I saw outside my kitchen window that Old Man Winter had sent a few flakes our way to let us know that he was now presiding over the season. We shift from full colour to the brilliance of white. The smallest of flakes forming together to create a blanket for us to keep us warm until Spring. This is what I experienced this morning and I captured this photo when I let Micah outside.

Stay warm,
Maggie

my flu shot choice…….

I've had this commentary running through my head for a while now. It involves the policies that many institutions are setting in place regarding the flu season and particularly the way that those persons choosing not to get the flu shot will be treated. I understand that a policy needs to be in place but I beg to differ with the content at times. The most common policy for most facilities present day is that if there is a flu outbreak, the staff that have not had the flu shot will be sent home without pay because they cannot apparently offer any protection to their patients. This year the newest trend is for those that are non-compliant to wear a mask when there is an outbreak. I can deal with either of these policies and they will not sway my decision to be able to 'choose' how I approach my wellness. What I do differ with is that those of us who choose to not have the shot have been referred to as being a threat not only to patients but to people in society as a whole. My, oh my, those are very strong words. I also recently read that there is a correlation between patient mortality and the level of compliance of staff receiving the flu shot. Once again very strong words. It feels to me that those of us who choose 'personal choice' are made out to be the undesirables who in fact are out to harm others by having made this choice. I can only speak for myself but this ideology to me is so far from my truth that it greatly disappoints me and I am personally offended. I do my best each and every day to live a life that will support my wellness on all levels. It is a holistic health philosophy that I choose to participate in 12 months of the year as opposed to a moment where I will receive an injection that will magically make me be what they want me to be.

 I feel as though my efforts to live a life filled with healthy choices is completely negated by the fact that my personal choice is to not receive the flu shot. My wellness plan involves supporting my immunity during the entire year and boosting it during the flu season. My wellness plan involves so much more and yet it seems to count for nothing.

We all are allowed to make a choice and I have made mine. To live my life as best I can every day and promote my wellness similarly……..that's all.

Wishing health and wellness for all,

Maggie

hmm.....

Sunday.... day three in my world of working weekends. So glad for it to be here and will make it through fine. I make it sound like its such a dreadful thing but in reality it is a long 36 hours to work in three days. It does have its payoff in the end and that is the ring you keep reaching for. The time change was also last night and there is always a sense of nervousness in that I always hope that I have done the right thing with the alarm so as to awaken me at the right time. During the night I awoke and at that time I checked my phone and saw that it had changed by itself and I thought that I had changed the clock properly, but in fact I hadn't. I was awake early though and Kelly checked in with me in a sleepy voice to ask if my alarm had gone off and was I getting up. It was a 'no' and then a 'yes' to those pointed questions on the first day of the time change and I quickly placed my feet on the floor and began my morning ritual for work.

This is when Autumn really sets in for me and the days becoming shorter are the proverbial sign of the cold weather arriving on our doorstep. It's a time that I have had to bring myself to embrace as I am not one who enjoys the cold. The thoughts of winter scenes of freshly fallen snow with the sun creating diamond like sparkles are romanticized in my mind and capturing these moments in reality keep me focused on making it through my winter months. Give me an afternoon curled up on the sofa with a blanket to keep my warm and a good book and I'm a happy girl ....... add a cup of hot tea or a glass of wine and I am even happier. In the cold months I have to create an atmosphere to live in that will nurture me through what I have always disliked. This works for me now and lets me reach for Spring more easily.

Namaste,

Maggie

my weekend......

I work as a nurse at our local hospital and consequently I have to work weekends. I only work every other weekend but I truly can't wait for the day that my life as a weekend worker will be finished. My partner Kelly has a Monday thru Friday job and therefore each weekend off and I envy her for that. My envy is only though due to the fact that I can't be off at the same time with her so that we can live life on the same plane for the day. Does this tell you that I'm so in love with her.... ha... I smile as I write this because this is my truth and if I go into that, well, that will be a whole other blog post. So as it stands I work my weekends and when my weekend off arrives I treasure it greatly and savour each moment that we have. It's just the way I feel about it.

Hope your weekend is a good one!

Maggie

the floor - continued.......

I posted a few weeks ago about the big job that was ahead of us in that we were going to be tiling several areas in our house. Something that we have never done, but Kelly took the workshop at Home Depot and read books and she was good to go. Oh, and I should mention that her dad was only a phone call away on the west coast and he had tiled an entire home before! I read over that post again and could feel the excitement that I was experiencing with all of this and how "ready, set, go!!" we were with it all. My excitement remains but it is tempered with the fact that it is taking us much longer than we had anticipated and are so ready for it to be done. We have worked tirelessly at this project and it has turned out to be so much more than we thought it would be. Although maybe it is a good thing that we were naive in what we were undertaking because if we had known we might have given up on the whole project which would not have been good. We wanted to save some money by doing the work ourselves and that is a good thing, but we have had to make sure that the cost of our physical and mental health is not impacted too. Kelly also loves doing reno work so she was just itching to get at it.
Oh gosh, we have each had our 'moments', but we have been supportive of each other and spurred each other on as needed. Our 2 weeks off seemed to go quickly and now finishing the work is left to our weekends off which are very precious to the both of us. Kelly is off every weekend but I do work every other one and this makes it a bit harder since it is easier to do the job when we can both help out. We have learned so much from this renovation experience and I'm sure there will be more to learn before we complete the job. We are already so proud of what we have accomplished and can only imagine how awesome it will look when we are all done!

Here is a photo of the dining room in it's almost complete state. We are leaving all  the grout work until the end so still more to do with this room.

Here's hoping my next blog will show you just how much farther we have come!! 

Maggie

the floor we walk on.......

Kelly and I have been working on renovations to the house for over a year now. It has taken us this long because there has been so much to do. I have lived here for 20 years and over time the house has become dated and some things that needed attention just didn't take priority. When Kelly and I decided to live together it was a perfect opportunity for us redecorate and renovate and renew! I was thrilled in that Kelly is very handy and can do a lot of the work herself. I don't have those kind of skills but am able to help out with whatever else might be needed. Once the renovations are completed the house will only resemble itself from its basic structure. Pretty much everything else has been transformed with paint, carpeting, light fixtures, vanity, counters, window coverings and even a new garden bed in the front yard. The next and biggest project for us to undertake is the tile flooring that we are going to be putting in this week. This is seriously a big job and it makes me a bit nervous when I think about the enormity of it! It's ironic that we both admit that we are becoming a bit weary of all the renovations and here we are now with the biggest job of all. Did we save the best for last?? Well, it could be that we did! It has been a challenge right from the start of making the decision to having tile flooring. The colour choice ended up being so different from what we thought we wanted but we feel now we have made the right choice. We had a lot to take into account as the tile will be in three rooms and the hallway so it had to look right everywhere. Then the measure and the ordering. When we signed on the dotted line it was a done deal and there was no turning back! It was ordered and the call came in that it was ready for pick up..... all 475 sq. feet of it! My back will never forget the day we unloaded all those boxes from the truck and stacked them in the garage. It was the heaviest lifting I have ever done, but we did it together and after it was all done I said that it was now coming in the house just one tile at a time! lol!! It took all of yesterday for my back to feel normal again. So now the fun begins and we start with our biggest project ever! I will post photos as we move along in the process!

Here is a pic of all the tiles on the skids at the hardware store ready to be loaded into the truck. It was a back breaking job but we managed to get it all stacked in the garage and now it's ready for the floors!  

And here's a picture of the small bathroom downstairs that will be for my Reiki clients when they come for treatment. It has been completely transformed and I think looks beautiful! 

More pictures will follow to let you see how the tile floor turns out. I can't wait to get started! 

Maggie

Reflections and connection.....

It's a reflective Sunday morning here at home as I sip my tea and listen to the rain outside of the meditation room window. Flute music is playing softly and vanilla incense is wafting from the room to throughout the house. I like these kind of mornings.......quiet, calm, peaceful. It feels as though the world is still asleep and the frenzied pulse of life has not yet taken over.  It makes me feel like this is 'my time' and these kind of moments often make me reflective. This mornings reflections are steeped in gratitude.

I am on the first day of my two weeks of holidays and I am always grateful for time at home. We are not going away on a holiday during this time off work but instead we have chosen this time specifically to complete another portion of the home renovations that have been an ongoing project since last July. We are beginning to feel a bit weary of all the work that we have been doing but it is bringing what is now our home together, back to life after so many years of passive living and merely existing as four walls. We have been breathing new life into what we are now making 'our' home and it feels wonderful and I am so grateful for this opportunity. I feel as though the house is smiling back at us and is quietly whispering a thank-you. A house needs to be a 'home' and a home needs to be a person's sanctuary. That place that you know you can wake up in and return to each day and feel both comforted and safe. It needs to be that one place on this vast planet that you can call your own and always feel like it is giving you a big hug when you walk through the door and reassure you that life is going to be ok. We all want to feel a connectedness, which in turn makes us feel supported and I feel that a home can do that for us. I have been in homes where I have felt that connectedness that it  has with its owners and I have felt the opposite also. Our homes are often a reflection of who we are as people and where we might be at in life.

For us our renovations are heading into the final stages of completion I can feel everything coming together and the connectedness is falling into place. It's a very good feeling and I am grateful for so many things involved with it. We are blessed to be able to do alot of the work ourselves and that we have had the resources to take this all on. When it is all said and done we will be able to sit back and smile and know that we did our best and our home will be a happy one.

Warm blessings to all,

Maggie

Leek, Potato and Mushroom Soup.....

I came across this soup recipe several years ago and it is now one of my 'go to' soups for the fall and winter. It's simple to make and the ingredients are often in the refrigerator or the pantry making it even easier to make on the spur of the moment for a last minute dinner idea. It's one of our 'comfort' foods here in our house and goes well with a crusty bread and a nicely aged cheddar. The one ingredient that surprised me the first time I made it was the dill weed. It totally makes this soup taste fabulous! Give it a try and let me know what you think of it!

Here the ingredients are all coming together in the soup pot! If only you could have been in my kitchen to smell the wonderful flavours! 

Finished product in the bowl for tasting! Actually this is the last serving of this delicious soup! We had it for dinner one night this week and the rest of the week it went into work with us for our lunch! So yummy! 

Here's the recipe everyone! 

Leek, Potato and Mushroom Soup

5 tablespoons butter, divided

2 leeks, chopped

2 large carrots, sliced

6 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons dried dill weed

2 teaspoons salt 

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

2 pounds potatoes, peeled & diced

1 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 cup half & half

1/4 cup all purpose flour

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Mix in leeks and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Pour in broth. Season with dill, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Mix in potatoes, cover, and cook 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender but firm. Remove and discard the bay leaf. 

Melt the remaining butter in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the mushrooms 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir into the soup.

In a small bowl, mix the half and half and flour until smooth. Stir into the soup to thicken. 

Serve and enjoy!!

Maggie

in the moment.......

I awoke this morning and there was a calmness and a feeling of resolute in that this day is  a gift that can only be lived this one time. This particular morning is not really out of the ordinary. I am off to my job soon and am in fact working all weekend. But there seems to be something this morning that is saying loud and clear that this day, and all others that follow, need to be lived in the moment and experienced fully. This is not an epiphany for me because I have felt this before and understand the beauty of this choice but we all tend to fall away from this easily. It seems that in this busy, crazy world that we live in, our minds are full of things we know. Some of these 'things we know' are in our everyday consciousness and we are fully aware of them and access them reliably without even a thought. It's just what we do. But some things live in the back of our minds and we need to be reminded of them from time to time and have them pushed into the forefront or pull them there ourselves. Great Spirit has a way of pushing things onto our path and placing them where we will notice them whether it be through an incident or a thought. For me this morning it seems to be through thought.  I know that this day has a finite number of moments that I can choose to live in one way or another. So how do I really want to live those moments. I can choose to live inside of each one of these moments and that then allows me to fully experience them in a way that I think, feel and understand each one. I must be 'present' to do this. This is one of the key factors in living an authentic life. If I choose to be fully present then I am able to exist within that moment and make the best choice possible or be witness to one. To be present may simply be as a bystander and that then is also the experience.
My life lived in the present moment is necessary so that I can feel it fully. This may be both tough and easy because life is full of paradox but I will have done my best.

May you live in the present moment today and for all new days that come.

Namaste,
Maggie

all good things.....

It just needed to be shared! Have a great day everyone!

Maggie

the wise choice......

I blogged yesterday and noted that I had so many things that I wanted to get done. Well, I can truly say that I did accomplish many things and yet it is this morning right now that I am simmering the pear jam on the stove! So as you know the pear jam didn't get done but it was for the right reasons. I had a busy day yesterday with many things on my agenda and did the prep work for the jam throughout the day but by the time I was ready to put all the ingredients in the pot it was 4:30. The 'get it done' part of me pulled the pot out of the cupboard, looked at the clock and sighed deeply knowing that I was in for another couple of hours of work and then my 'wise mind' took over and said..... 'No, it's getting too late in the day to start the canning process now'. Now in the past the 'get it done' part of me would have thought that this was the 'wise' thing to do in an effort to complete the task and be able to then subconsciously reward myself for a job well done. I would have thought it was fine to push myself to the edge to get it done. I would have though interrupted our dinner time and yesterday I would have actually missed out on a Harley ride with Kelly. I have in the past pushed myself to get things done and then I didn't have to 'feel bad' for not doing what I had set out to do. It was a form of self criticism that carried over from early childhood parental criticism and neither has any benefit. As I have become older and 'wiser' I am able to see the difference that a decision can make. I would have upset my own applecart so to speak yesterday if I had continued with my task at hand. I would have missed our Harley ride and I would have tried to make dinner amongst the jam process which would have been very frustrating and a dinner prepared while feeling that way will not feed your soul. I also would have been more exhausted than I already was and I was truly tired after a long, busy day. There was no need to rush the process and 'tick' it off my list of things I wanted to do yesterday. There was no need to say 'look at all the things I did today', because I still did plenty. We have these preconceived notions that we are less than ourselves if we don't get done what we set out to do. I now know that it's all ok to fall short of my plans. It's just plain ok. There is no longer that subconscious report card at the end of the day that says I did good or bad and if someone else thinks that way about me then I'm sorry for that but I'm taking care of my wellness by making that decision. It's a mind game that we play with ourselves and I will admit I have done it for too many years of my life and now I know better. Yesterday was a quick catch on my wise mind's part to tell my 'other half' that it was ok to leave it and deal with it today. So the prepped pears went into the refrigerator and off we went on the bike for a great ride in the country. Jam I can make today.

This is what I would have missed if I had chose to finish the jam.........enough said.

Make wise choices.......

Maggie

catching up......

Ok so it's been almost 2 weeks since I have posted anything here. There has been lots going on and time to sit and blog has been minimal but today maybe a little time can be set aside to share. I have been continuing to do my preserving and as much as the last several days I have not, I will be making some pear vanilla jam today. I was blessed to be able to visit a friends home and she has a pear tree that is filled with pears! I managed to snag 2 small bushels and will make the jam hopefully today and then plan to can pear halves with the rest. This year so far my root cellar is filled with strawberry and  blueberry jam along with blueberry syrup, pickled garlic scapes and pickled beets, spicy honey mustard, peach jam, peach chutney and peach halves, red onion relish, whole tomatoes and tomato sauce. It's always a lot of work but the rewards in the cold winter months is well worth the effort put forth in harvest time.

my root cellar so far.....

I have also been drying some herbs in my new herb dryer from Lee Valley which is exciting for me. I haven't dried herbs before so as much as I'm doing it very simply it's still fun to do. So far I have only done sage, lemon verbena and rosemary but it's a start. I have some more to dry and will try to make time for that today too along with also those pears halves if I can squeeze that in! And maybe walk the dog and some yoga for me.....and I have an appointment at 1! I can see that my day is filling up as I write!

We have been continuing with our house renos and are picking out tile flooring this week. We have holidays in October and our main goal is going to be laying the tile! Yikes! It's a big job but I have confidence in my partner that she can do it and I will help wherever I can. It is going to transform our space and is going to look amazing! Our goal is to somewhat have the renos completed so that we can start entertaining our friends by the holiday season. It's been a long haul but so well worth it. I have lived in my home for 20 years and it needed much updating and now I can be proud of it once again. I can say it fell into a deep sleep for a while and now has been awakened not unlike so many other areas of my life. It has been a year of transformation.

Blessings to all,

Maggie

quick lunch....

I have been busy canning once again today and took a break from it long enough to have lunch with my son Brandon. I grabbed a naan bread from the store and headed to the garden plot to grab some tomatoes, onions & basil. I was canning tomato sauce this morning so I used that as my base and topped it with the vegetables and a bit of Havarti I already had in the refrigerator. Top that with a little freshly ground pepper and some sea salt and you have a delicious lunch! The freshness of the flavours was incredible !

We topped that off with some fresh sliced peaches over greek yogurt with agave and sprinkled with hemp hearts and it made for a perfect lunch! 

I hope your day is going fabulously! 

Blessings,

Maggie

breakfast changes.......

The morning is cool and crisp today. It is certainly a sign that it is September and we are heading into Fall. Along with this comes our own seasonal transition inside of us and I always find this so fascinating. It was a simple choice this morning to make myself a hot bowl of porridge and enjoy the transition. 

Thats all it took....some steel cut oats cooked and topped in the end with agave, walnuts and hemp seeds. Perfectly perfect! 

Enjoy your day! 

Maggie

savoury peach jam......

I was literally at a loss a few days ago. I have been canning for many weeks now and on this day in particular I had nothing to preserve. I felt empty about that. Odd isn't it? Well for me not so much I can say. There is something very pioneer about my love for preserving and this woman, on that day, was pining to place yet something else on my root cellar shelves. I was browsing online and came across a recipe for a savoury peach jam and it filled the bill perfectly. It included shallots and sage and I already had shallots on hand and the sage was a short trip away to the community garden site. Needless to say my heart was happy and off I went to gather my ingredients. Peaches are in full swing here and I had already put up peach jam and peach halves. I like working with peaches as they are easy to pit and peel so I knew this wouldn't be too intensive for my day. I picked much more sage than needed but I had also planned to dry some of it and so it went into the herb dryer that I recently purchased. The sage was beautiful and its aroma reminded me of the stuffing that I make each year at Christmas. This peach jam will work perfectly with roast turkey!

The recipe is simple in that all the ingredients except the sage are simmered together in a pot until it becomes thick and then the sage is added. It is not intended to 'set' like a jam, in fact I think it's more like a chutney type sauce. Here you can see all the beautiful bits of deliciousness coming together. 

The end result is this gorgeous mix of sweet and savoury flavours that will delight the palate! We sampled it the next evening with a platter of cheese and meats and it was wonderful! I will be happy to share the recipe with you all........

Savoury Peach Jam with Shallots & Sage

2 pounds peaches

3/4 cup minced shallots

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes-optional ( I didn't use them)

Pit and peal the peaches. I poach the peach halves to remove the skin more easily. Finely mince the fruit. Combine the fruit in a saucepan with the shallots, sugar and the vinegar. Place the pan on a burner over medium-high heat and cook stirring regularly until the fruit is quite soft and the jam not watery looking. This could take 15-20 minutes depending on the water content of the fruit. Keep a close eye on it as mine began to stick on the bottom.

When the jam is looking thick and spreadable, stir in the sage, salt and red chili if using.

This jam can be used immediately and will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. For longer storage it can be funneled into clean, hot jars and processed in a boiling wager bath canner for 15 minutes.

Makes approximately 3 cups.

Enjoy!!

Of note ~ the recipe is credited to Table Matters

Have a great day! 

Maggie

early morning......

On workdays my alarm goes off very early and I begin my routine to prepare for the day. I have always given myself enough time to get ready and then also sit and relax or do something that might need attention such as emails, banking etc. But today I managed to stir up a batch of goodness and filled the cookie jar to the brim. I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, the recipe that I have followed for probably some odd 30 years, and the house is wonderfully scented with both chocolate and vanilla. Now, since I am not one who can tolerate sugar well at all I probably won't even partake of a mere morsel but the scent is enough to fill my being with goodness. My partner Kelly will enjoy them for sure. She always smiles when she sees the cookie jar filled once again.

Fresh out of the oven and onto the cooling rack. 

Still in the dimness of the early morning light the cookie jar is filled and ready to be enjoyed. 

I hope that your early morning time is special for you also. 

Blessings, 

Maggie

 

September days......

I sit here in early morning and realize that the days of summer are coming to an end soon as we have entered into September quietly over the weekend. September seems to transition into our lives in a way that does not have the applause of June or July, but is simply September. A time when we all know that summer is slipping away and the days of cool fall mornings and the sleepiness of flora will begin. As much as I have enjoyed summer I know that it is time to move on. Our bodies have the inner sense and intuition that hibernation is near. For myself it has been at least a month already where I have at times had the longing of a brisk winter day where I am cocooned in my home with a pot of nourishing soup on the stove and the scent of fresh bread wafting from the oven. I'm not sure if global weather changes cause my body to respond sooner to this desire or if there is something within me that needs to be nourished sooner than later. I do believe that our bodies know what we need and our inner wisdom is not to be ignored. My mind has been engaged in thoughts of winter months as I have been preserving much of the local harvest over the last several weeks and am drawn to how fortunate we will be to have all of these delicious foods grace our table on those cold, blustery days. Days where my mind will hearken back to the summer and how I stood in my kitchen and prepared foods for us to partake of in winter. Our bodies go through these seasonal changes without even a thought on our part. It is simply who we are as resonant beings. I'm drawn to different things at this time of year and as much as I know I am having to give up things that I love from summer, it is time to let go of those things and welcome Fall into my life. My body will yearn for something different and will understand what it needs without my having to decide for it. I love this innate wisdom that exists within us all. We don't have to ask for it or learn it, as it is inside of us from as far back as the day when we were born, but the key to it all is to listen to what we need. It's that little whisper inside of us that is always ready to look after us in the best way possible. I know for myself I need to begin to engage in my nurturing in a different way than I needed to in the summer months. Summer is a time of activity that is often faster paced and jam-packed and I find that by the time September is upon us I am ready to slow down and relax. For me it's just time to do just that. I know I have a few days work left in the kitchen to fill up the root cellar shelves a bit more, but as the harvest is still upon us and I must work with the harvest to fulfil this. But after that is done it is then time to step back and take a break. It's as though the Fall eases us into the winter months where we can rest and recharge ourselves for the upcoming Spring and Summer that will always follow. It's a cycle that has been with us since the beginning of time but I think when we acknowledge it the transition is somewhat easier. My needs change as the seasons change and it's the recognition of this that will allow us to live our best lives.

Blessings,
Maggie

catching up.....

I feel as though I need to do some serious catching up with my blog and hopefully in the next week or so I can do just that. It is a busy time of year right now with all the fruits and vegetables coming into peak harvest season and I love to do a bit of canning. This has kept me away from the blog and busy for the last several weeks. I don't go overboard with it but I love to walk down to my root cellar with jars in arms and line the shelves with natural goodness that has come from the earth and will grace our table in winter. There must be a pioneer woman inside of me that is manifesting herself in my current life and she helps me get back to my roots of living a simple life. That has been a common thread vision that has been a part of my being for as many years as I can remember. To live a life of simplicity and to live happily and quietly with myself and others. Preserving helps me to do that.

I still have some canning on my list of things to do before the harvest is over and then I hope to get back to more regular posting. After the canning season is done I will be gathering my energies to reestablish my Reiki practice once again. I am excited about this and will write more about that as things progress.

For now though I must close the laptop and get myself ready to head off to work. Yes, that paying job that allows me to live the life that makes me happy. So, we will come together again here soon and we will chat and reflect on many things. Until next time........

Blessings,

Maggie

taco seasoning mix......

I have huge issues with MSG. It turns me into this person who can't sleep and the results of this are not good. It proves itself as an excitotoxin when this happens and I am still discovering for myself which foods it is in, some of which are obvious, and in other foods it is a hidden poison.

A couple of weeks ago we made a quick dinner of tacos from a package spice mix and I thought nothing of it until the next morning after a dreadful nights sleep (actually no sleep) that I put it all together and realized that I had ingested MSG the night previous. I was mad at myself because I had actually looked at the package ingredients and saw that it included 'natural flavour' but I went ahead anyway and used it thinking that it would be ok. I was so wrong.

Out of this experience I decided that I wanted to come up with an alternative to this very popular brand of taco seasoning mix and searched the internet to find one. I found one that seemed to fit the bill and today got the ingredients together and made my own mix.

So here's my MIY (make it yourself) Taco Seasoning mix!

MIY Taco Seasoning Mix

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder 

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

~Mix together all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. 

~Use about 2 tablespoons mix per 1 pound of ground meat. Use more or less to adjust to your own taste. 

~Brown your beef and drain off fat. Sprinkle seasoning evenly over meat and add 1/3 cup of water. Simmer until water is absorbed.

Enjoy!!

Maggie

*Credit for the recipe must go to Family Fresh Meals website.

my fav pic of the summer......

I think the picture speaks for itself. The beauty of real food at its best.......

Spicy Honey Mustard

I've been busy with canning for the last several weeks and have not been posting any blogs so I thought I should catch up a bit. My latest canning project was this Spicy Honey Mustard that I found the recipe for in my favourite and most used canning book this summer. I have shared the book previously in my blog but it bears sharing again. Food In Jars is the name and it's a great one to have in your library of recipe books! It's been my go-to book for the season.

I decided to make the mustard recipe and see how we would like it. I think it's a great way to have total control of what goes into my mustard and know that it doesn't have any hidden ingredients.

Here's the recipe for anyone that wants to give it a try!

Spicy Honey Mustard

1 cup dry mustard

1 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Prepare a boiling water bath and sterilize 4 quarter-pint jars. Place lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water and simmer over very low heat.

Combine all ingredients in a small pot. Whisk to blend and bring to a simmer over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. When the mustard is thoroughly heated through, ladle it into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

By making your own mustard you can design it to your own tastes and make it milder or even spicier if you like. That's the beauty of making your own! I think these 4 jars will probably last us for the winter season and if not then I will just make us another batch. 

Enjoy! 

Maggie