Are We Lucky or What?

I'm reading Tim Russert's book Wisdom of Our Fathers and enjoying the stories from daughters and sons about what their father's meant to them.

I really like the story a daughter told about her father who instilled a positive outlook in his children by the repeated use of a couple of simple phrases, "are we lucky or what?" and "it's perfect I wouldn't change a thing."

A positive outlook on life has to be one of the best gifts a mother or father could give their children.

The World Is What You Are

"The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are. If you are loving, if you are friendly, if you are helpful, the world will prove loving and friendly and helpful to you. The world is what you are."

Thomas Dreier

From the "Thought of the Day" Archive at Interlude: An Internet Retreat

Before We Had Lunesta

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!

-- Edna St. Vincent Millay

Let's Drink a Toast To Those Who Best Survived The Life They've Led

Janis Ian wrote some wonderful songs...

This YouTube video combines her song "Tea and Sympathy" with some Phantom clips.

The End Is Not In Sight

I was happy to see this song from the "Amazing Rhythm Aces" on YouTube. I don't get to hear it much since my turntable bit the dust.

Cowboy music, horses, cows and cowboy pictures - it doesn't get much better than that for an old sagebrush runner like me.

Cowboys represent a simpler time for many people in my generation. We grew up watching the Lone Ranger, Roy Rodgers, Rawhide and lots of other shows where you knew who the good guys were.

You Don't Have To Always Be Anything

We are sold on the idea that there are things, people, books, places, pharmaceuticals, clothes, cars, money...ad infinitum - that if we only had this or that or them we would be happy.

Capitalism needs people to buy and consume. We are brainwashed into thinking that having some things equates to being some thing (happy, sexy, smart, powerful...etc.)

None of it's true. We all need the basics food, shelter, security - but beyond that there is no thing that is going to satisfy our basic desire to find meaning and love of self and others.

It's a constant struggle to keep from being overcome by the barrage of selling us things we don't need. For example - whenever I see a commercial on television for a pharmaceutical to make me sleep, or make me happy, I remind myself it's okay to not sleep or not be happy sometimes. In fact if I was always sleeping perfectly or always happy I'd have to ask myself why? We should lose sleep over things and not be happy every so often - it reminds us we are alive.

The Power of Metaphor

Simple changes in the way we describe things to ourselves can make huge differences in our outlook on life.

Consider "daily grind" - a simple phrase we may use to describe our day to day activities. This brings to mind being chewed up, ground down and spit out - not to appealing.

If we think of our activities as a "daily walk" it changes the tone completely. We are no longer being ground down but are rather on a journey with the potential for new experiences, learning, and growth.

Letting Go But Still Holding On

I ran across this in a daily devotional and thought it might be inspirational to others who need to let go of a role due to changes in their life.

"I know that my response to God's call is a commitment to a lifetime of obedience, but I have found many calls to serve within God's larger call. These may be given or withdrawn at any time, as God determines. I am grateful to have learned the lesson of letting go of a role and a task when it is time but still holding on to a lifetime relationship with Christ, God's supreme gift."

John Eyberg (Oklahoma, U.S.A.)


Prayer - Lord God, teach us when it is time to let go of old ways in order to answer your new call to us. Amen.

Moving From Your Head to Your Heart

The journey of a lifetime returns us to where we started - in a state of grace using our hearts not our heads - we find we are home, taking pleasure in a simple touch, a warm smile, sleeping peacefully....knowing nothing, our minds are empty and our hearts are full.

Inspiration - For Today

I often find interesting and helpful information at Interlude: Meditation of the Week at interluderetreat.com.

The meditation for this week, "The Zen of Working Out", written by Karan O’Neill, ends with this affirmation:

"Just for today, I will realize a reason to take care of myself.

Just for today, I will envision myself evolving into a more mindful person.

Just for today, I will be grateful that I have the capacity to change myself.

Just for today, I will take a walk, lift some weights, or sit in meditation.

Just for today, I will live each moment in the moment, and experience it to the fullest.

Just for today I will remember that Zen is a workout, not an end in itself."

Fresh Produce

I spent a day and a half cooking and freezing produce I got at the local farmer's market. The most time consuming was the tomatoes. I cooked a case of tomatoes into spaghetti sauce, peeled and sliced a case of peaches, bagged up two flats of blueberries, sliced a variety of peppers and made pesto.

The main ingredient in pesto is basil, which was either non-existent or very expensive in the big stores, but it was 1 dollar for a big bunch at the market. Making pesto is simple as long as you have something to finely chop the basil. A chef's knife that you can rock, and a cutting board would work but I use something called an Alaskan Ulu, which is a curved knife that fits into a curved wooden bowl. In Italy this tool is called a mezzaluna (for the half-moon shape of the blade). The pesto I made is a combination of fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan and pine nuts.

I started the spaghetti sauce by sautéing a mirepoix (I fried some onion, carrots, celery in a little olive oil), added a lot of fresh garlic and basil, vegetable stock, dried oregano, garlic powder, sea salt, pepper and many sliced tomatoes into a sixteen quart stock pot. I let that cook for a couple of hours - then cooled it and froze it in quart size and gallon sized bags. Then I repeated it with the rest of the tomatoes.

Peaches are easy to freeze. I used Alberta's. The key is to blanch them (quickly submerse them in boiling water) so the skin comes off easily. Don't leave them in the hot water or they start to cook and get mushy. I cut them into slices for use in smoothies or the occasional peach pie.

Blueberries are even easier - just rinse them off, pick out any stems or leaves, and put them in freezer bags.

Peppers are easy too - just cut out the seeds and white membrane inside and slice them into cookable pieces. I love seeing all the different colors and varieties of peppers at the market this time of year. I'm growing some hot peppers in a container this year and am looking forward to using them for fresh salsa.

After I was done with my produce storage, I made some pizza dough using -

3 1/2 cups flour (approximately)
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons yeast (one package)
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt

Pizza dough (or any yeast dough) is a little tricky - but not too hard once you get the hang of it. Dissolve the yeast, honey and salt into pretty warm water (not super hot or you'll kill the yeast) in a good sized bowl - one that's big enough to hold 3 1/2 cups flour and give you room to knead the dough. Let it sit for five minutes or so and watch for bubbles to start to form - if they don't you might have a bad batch of yeast; or the water was too hot. If the water is too cold it will just take longer for the yeast to get going.

Add one cup of flour to the liquid while mixing with a fork. Gradually add more flour until the dough just starts to come apart. Use your hands/knuckles to fold the dough over until it forms a skin. Make sure you knead the dough enough or it won't rise - it has to form gluten which is what makes the dough trap gas bubbles given off by the yeast. When the dough is smooth and satiny, form it into a ball, and you are ready to let it rise. Fill your sink with a few inches of hot water and put the bowl of dough in, covering it with a towel. I like using the sink with some hot water because the heat and high humidity make it a good substitute for a proofing box.

Let the dough rise for 20 minutes or so. Punch the dough down and do a little more kneading to form a ball, or a rectangle, depending on the shape of your pizza pan. Coat your pan with olive oil and push the dough into the pan.

I used my homemade Italian sauce, mozeralla (it didn't melt so good...maybe I needed to try grating it), sweet onions, fresh tomatoes, black olives and some of the fresh pesto (after the pizza cooked).

It's very tasty. This simple dough could be used for breadsticks, rolls or a loaf of bread if you don't feel like a pizza and want to smell that wonderful yeasty smell in your kitchen.

Simply Wait

Inward/Outward is a good spot for interesting quotes and comments.

They Are Re-Burning The Man Tonight

Thanks to a lot of hard work the man was rebuilt quickly after someone prematurely torched him earlier this week.

I've been watching a shaky webcast of the event and it makes me think you really need to be there (along with 40,000 plus other burners this year).

I was thinking of building a miniature burning man earlier today and firing it up in the backyard but didn't get to it because I was busy working in the yard, and riding my bike around to pick up some of Dr Bronner's Magic Soap and some vegan mozzarella cheese substitute for a pizza I'm planning to make with fresh ingredients from the farmers market tomorrow. I was thinking fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic and onions for a start.

Actually...I wasn't that busy - I was playing Super Mario on Nintendo DS (reached level 6), reading magazines and just relaxing on this nice labor day weekend.

It's a nice night - I think I'll go outside and light my sage bundle and think about the many things I have to be thankful for.

No No No

You know a song has made it's way deep into pop culture when Brian the hard-drinking talking dog on Family Guy starts singing it.

Thank goodness not everyone has to be rehabilitated.

Gotta love the hook.

Bicycle Camping In The Big Wide Open

Ken Kifer's, "Guide to Free, Self-sufficient, Legal Backwoods Camping" has good detailed information, if you have a hankering to try some Bicycle Camping.

He was not writing about camping in campgrounds; but rather wherever you decide is a good spot to bed down for the night (he gives advice on finding good places). You can tell by reading his work that he was into the doing rather than appearance of doing - he doesn't recommend you head down to REI and buy a couple thousand dollars worth of gear - he starts with the very simplest camping that he did with a wool blanket, tarp and a wood fire in the 1970's and then explains what additional equipment he used as he rode on many bicycle camping trips. This page provides a discussion of equipment, and lists what he carried with him.

This is a quote from his page -

"I have never forgotten the answer someone received on a Sierra Club hike. He had simply asked what minimum equipment he would need to start camping, and the person leading the trip -- who evidently considered himself a great expert -- rattled off the brand names of and details about hundreds -- if not thousands -- of dollars of equipment, saying each item was absolutely necessary. Actually, on a warm night in many areas, one can sleep right on the ground without any gear whatsoever, although a ground cloth would be a good idea. I have slept without pitching my tent many times (I've also had to pitch the tent in the middle of the night too, when the weather changed). But my real point is that it doesn't take first-rate equipment to have a first-rate time, nor will first-rate equipment do you much good if you don't understand what you're doing."

Ken Kifer spent many years doing what he wrote about. He was killed, by a drunk driver in 2003, while riding his bicycle. His website is kept up by a good friend.

I Haven't Showered For Two Weeks

I've been in Northern Minnesota for a couple of weeks, away from electronic devices - enjoying the quiet sounds of water lapping at the shore of a nice clean lake surrounded by tall pines and birch trees. It was a wonderful break from work and the day to day. I did exactly what I wanted - nothing.

Almost nothing.

I did attend my niece's wedding in Minneapolis and after we got to the lake we played cards, frisbee, horseshoes, ate, swam, boated, rode bikes, and my favorite - took hot saunas and jumped in a cold lake. I also had to go into town every so often to get an espresso and hit the Indian Casino at Cass lake a couple of times, where Rachel got super lucky playing Black Jack.

One of my favorite things about this place is the wood-fired sauna. It's fun to light the old cast iron wood stove and alternate between the hot sauna and the cool/cold lake. It's really refreshing and a great way to clean up - I didn't take a shower for the two weeks I was there.

Big Bass Lake is Northeast of Bemidji, a popular vacation area. The lake is spring fed and has a variety of warm water fish, as well as a nice natural sand beach, in front of the cottage, which makes swimming and playing in the water fun. It's a good place for kids and older folks to hang out.

The two pictures below are from a place along a road between Minneapolis and Bemidji. Besides the cool pink Caddy, there was a small self-serve roadside fruit and vegetable stand, which had fresh local tomatoes and peppers, as well as canned jams and jellies and some craft items for sale. It was one of those, leave your money in the jar, operations that you sometimes see.

Things That Quicken The Heart

Some things to think about that you might take for granted...the smell of the hot street steaming after a light rain or dogs who carry things in their mouth while they’re on their walk -

"This page is inspired by a common Japanese tradition (uncommon to westerners), described in Chris Marker’s film Sans Soleil. As a form of meditation, or therapy, it is common to prepare a “list of 10 things that quicken the heart.” The list is supposed to describe the small things in life that make one happy, and which makes existence slightly more tolerable."


Source: snoreandguzzle

The Divine Language of Madness

"There is something in common, in poetry and in music - in the certain way that both of them are the language of madness.

The poet and the musician together speak a natural and universal language the original language that all creatures spoke before the fall of man.

For in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge they understood the language of all the animals and spoke such a language themselves which was the divine language."

Alan Watts

Metaphors We Live By

A short study guide to the book Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson.

Music to Help You Sleep - On a Starry Night

Fifty four out of fifty six reviewers gave the CD On a Starry Night a five star rating on Amazon (the other two gave it four stars). It must be really good. The Amazon reviewer "Audrey the Librarian" writes,

"Seventeen songs are presented from the US, Japan, Indonesia, Brazil, Ireland, Congo, Ghana, Cuba, Iceland, Israel, England, Russia and Germany. Some are sung, most are instrumental. All are very beautiful and soothing. The CD booklet contains a paragraph about each song with performance credits, original words and translation.

A remarkably soothing collection of lullabies. "