Worth the Wait

I have realized something about myself; I am a patient person.  Over the years I have learned to calm the need that demands everything be instantaneously self-gratifying.  I think it is what makes me a good gamer and a good teacher.  The shot above our house in the Sky Element world. I razed almost the whole island on my own after taking down the jungle trees while hubby is building an amazing lower basement under the island.  To me, it was relaxing work and I truly enjoyed it.

As a teacher of knitting, there are many times when I will have to work on a project with a student so I can see where they are in order to help.  I have rewritten lost patterns by slowly deconstructing a piece and charting it as I go so that the knitter could have a new pattern to save and work by.  I have fixed errors and ripped back for knitters in order to get them back on track.  I have spent hours learning something that I didn't understand when a question was asked that I didn't know myself so that I could turn around and give good advice.  All of these things I really enjoyed doing.  They challenged me and allowed me to give back to the knitting community...most of all, they helped me empower someone else in the process.

I can't tell you the number of students who come back and tell me that now they are passing on and teaching someone else...this brings me great happiness.  There is always someone who can teach me and someone I can teach; it is an endless spiral of give and take and sharing and community and it makes me so happy to be a part of this beautiful fiber world.

I haven't designed any knitting for a while.  My focus has been on enjoying the process again, but I'm starting to feel the urge.  Pictured above is where I am on the sweater with the scarf that needs to be blocked in the driveway to reach the 7-foot mark that the pattern calls for.  So much lovely green.

I have been creating herbal concoctions and this is an enjoyable but slow process.  Herbs take time to steep in vinegar and oils and I am patiently waiting as they do their thing.

In the meantime, I have been writing new recipes where the herbs all blend together to form something amazing...like a community.  I've been slowly gathering new essential and carrier oils and creating a good strong foundation of essentials.

It feels good to watch things slowly come together; to have a supportive community that is eager to try my new herbal recipes and I am so thankful for all my testers who have helped me rediscover my love of herbs and how they can help us heal.

This weekend I played with red peppers.  Red chili peppers contain capsaicin which is a chemical that increases blood circulation and stops the pain transmitter receptors from reaching the brain by overloading them.  I am making a red chili pepper oil which will become a base for my new muscle rub.

If you do this be very careful, red chili pepper can burn the eyes and mucous membranes.  Use gloves when touching the peppers and never ever lean over to smell how yummy your peppers are.  I might have done this in my youth while I was ironing...you know multi-tasking.  And thank the Goddess that it didn't end in disaster because my eyes were burning to the point of there was nothing but pain in my head.  Blind, I wandered outside somehow and then found my neighbor who was gardening and who gave me a cup of milk and I poured it on my eyes.

That was the best...feeling...ever.  Beautiful, instant glorious relief.  I was covered in milk but that was fine and dandy.

Thankfully, the iron was upright...the whole thing is laughable now and my hubby loves to tell the story of the day I was making homemade chili powder and basically, pepper-sprayed myself x 10.

Moral of the story; always use caution with chili peppers and save your ironing for later.  Oh, and in case you are wondering the homemade chili powder was the best my boss had ever tasted.

I've been looking at different options and listening to what people have asked for and I'm trying to accommodate everyone on some level.  First of all, was the smell; the man who asked for this rub didn't want it to smell medicinal.  So I went for musky, mysterious and homey.

I'm not sure which of these warming oils are making the grade yet or if I will have a woman's and a manly rub...but I was thinking about:

Chamomile - anti-inflammatory, eases muscle pain and spasms

Frankincense - anti-inflammatory, reduces stressed muscles and eases pain

Ginger - eases back pain, improves mobility, eases rheumatic and arthritic pain and eases spasms

Lavender - anti-inflammatory, relieves muscle tension and spasms, eases joint pain and headaches

Nutmeg - warming, used in massage oils to soothe soreness in overworked muscles

Rosemary - anti-spasmodic, reduces muscle and joint pain, eases backache and headaches

Sage - anti-inflammatory and spasmodic, eases muscle tension and spasms

If it all works out right, I should have a nice warming deep penetrating anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic pain reducer that smells good too.

Yay!  A very productive and varied week.

Happy crafting,
Ruinwen
:)

A Hodge Podge Post

I know that I promised you some pictures and I'm sorry to say that I'm not quite done with either project.  I ran into something that I can't talk about and can't explain but it is causing quite a mental hurdle for me and will continue to do so until next year.  I wish I could say more...but I hope that you can understand that sometimes you just can't control life...the most one can hope is to find a way to cope and go forward.

Speaking of coping...we found this amazing map.  It is called Sky Elements and is full of something for everyone.  Be warned...there are monster spawners...everywhere.  They are in trees and in boxes and under the ground.  We spent a good two days just blowing up every two steps trying to clear out the jungle.  But now we have it under control.

I tried to find a path into the heart of what I wanted to say and couldn't find one.  So shifting gears...

In the old days, the well of the community was its heart.  Water is necessary for survival.  Everything would spiral out from that water source and without it, a town would surely become a ghost town.

The "well" in our body is our gut.  The human body houses about 100 trillion microorganisms in the gut.  Good gut bacteria take energy from the fermentation of undigested carbohydrates and the product of the absorption of fatty acids.  Many of these bacteria act like organs in the way they perform metabolic jobs around our body.

Bacteria line our intestines and help us digest food, they make vitamins that are vital for life, they send signals to the immune system and they make small molecules that help our brain to work.

Over the years we have learned that these symbiotic bacteria help keep many functions of our body running smoothly.  The numbers are constantly changing as science starts to really look at the bacteria in our gut.  A study I read in 2013 said that on average the people they tested had 200 strains from 100 different species.  Another that I read said that there are somewhere between 5,600 different strains of gut bacteria, but about 99% come from the same 30 to 40 species.

The point is this is a new frontier and we are just on the cusp of understanding how important these gut flora are to our well being.  The helpful bacteria in our gut outweigh our own cells by a factor of 10.  We only know what a fraction of these good bacteria can do; there are still so many unknowns.

The most well known of these is Lactobacillus.  This bacteria that resides in the small intestine is responsible for producing lactase, the enzyme required to break down lactose.  Lactose is the sugar found in milk.  It also ferments carbohydrates in the gut to produce lactic acid.  Your gut is acidic so that it can discourage the growth of bad bacteria which thrives in an alkaline environment.  Lactic acid also helps to absorb some important minerals like copper, calcium, magnesium and iron.

If you break it down further by strain you can see how involved this bacteria is in our well being. Some of the many strains are:

L. acidophilus - helps to maintain the integrity of the intestinal wall, ensure proper nutrient absorption and supports healthy overall digestive function.

L. plantarum - produces hydrogen peroxide to defend against bacteria consumed in food it also supports immune function

L. rhamnosus - can survive in the GI tract, is excellent for female health organs, eczema and depression

L. salivarius - can survive in less than ideal conditions and is found in the mouth, throat and sinuses, intestines and female organs.  It also helps to prevent the colonization of the bad bacteria

The Bifidobacterium species lines the walls of the large intestine.  It helps to ward off invasive bad bacteria, including yeast.  It also produces lactic acid which provides up to 70 percent of the energy required by cells that line the intestinal wall, this helps to strengthen the protective barrier in the gut. It also helps to keep the pH for the large intestine acidic to discourage the growth of harmful bacteria. The lower pH helps the absorption of minerals.  Bifidobacterium also produces B-complex vitamins and vitamin K.

Some of the strains of this bacteria are:

B. bifidum - this strain is one of the first that we receive as babies and travels our life with us as one of our good flora that is found in the large intestine sometimes the small intestine as well.  It promotes bacterial balance, prevents the growth of unwanted bacteria, molds and yeasts

B. longum - is very common and has an ability to break down carbohydrates and to scavenge and neutralize toxins.  There is research being done right now that suggests this bacteria also practices chelation of metal ions and the scavenging of free radicals.  Regardless, this bacteria supports immune health.

B. infantis - this bacteria is found in babies and declines as we age.  It regulates our gut and decreases bloating and bathroom difficulties

So why is this suddenly such a big deal?  Two big reasons:  the foods that we used to consume because fermentation was a necessary part of the diet are not being eaten as much...especially in this country.  Kimchi, sauerkraut, unpasteurized cheese, buttermilk, fermented cod liver oil, kefir, kombucha, miso, natural pickles (not the ones on the shelf), tempeh, apple cider vinegar and yogurt are a few of the foods that are full of these helpful bacteria.

The second reason is antibiotics.  Antibiotics are amazing when you need them but they kill gut flora. If you were on a broad-spectrum antibiotic you might have killed off an entire strain and not even known it.  And since each of those above-listed foods only have certain bacteria in them, you might not be able to repopulate your colony and may lose out on their previous contribution to your well being.

An example of this might be, say I killed off my Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain.  This strain is responsible for the GI tract which might be handled by another strain.  It is hard to know the extent of losing one strain can have on the body.  Many people with eczema and skin inflammation are found to be deficient in this bacteria.  Further study has also linked this bacteria with the happy feel-good feeling that your brain needs to have to maintain good emotional balance.  Without this enzyme, this balance is lacking and many times depression is present in individuals with a L. rhamnosus imbalance or deficiency.  It helps with weight loss as well.

If I would hypothesize the lack of L. rhamnosus starts a chain of events that in the beginning might not be noticeable but as time goes on would start to become apparent.  If the GI tract has lost some of its guardian forces then maybe some bad bacteria would start to grow.  Bad bacteria eat processed food, sugar and sugar-free substitutes.  It is very easy to feed them which is why you need a strong army to keep them at bay.  Bad bacteria create inflammation and encourage weight gain.  When you are craving sugar it is probably your bad bacteria needing a fix.  So during this process, the scale is probably going up.

The effects of the harmful bacteria start to move through the body in this example into the skin and brain.  We know that there are bacteria which fight the brain fog that is one of the first signs that your gut is out of balance.  Anxiety which is another thing that L. rhamnosus helps to keep in check starts to spiral out of control and maybe there is trouble sleeping or focusing which both raise stress levels. Stress supports and feeds the inflammation and now there is a mental and psychical imbalance.

That is just a hypothesis but I feel it is close to the truth.   I have watched health, sometimes my own spiral out of control and if I looked back I could see the warning signs for what they are.

My gut right now is very sensitive.  I feel foggy a lot of the time.  My anxiety has gotten worse over the last year.  I have patches of eczema that just came out of nowhere.  So that example could be me.

I have been struggling with the sugar cravings but thankfully been able to hold my weight and I may be an anxious easily stressed mess but I am happy and thankful.  Last year I could not say that as easily but I am constantly working with myself...working towards a balance of spirit, mind and body.

When I had my spider bite I took a broad-spectrum antibiotic and I never really thought about it until I started researching probiotics for my family...but I think that I have compromised by gut flora and it is out of wack.

I'm going to try probiotics and see what difference they make and report back to you.

Shifting gears again...the foot scrub sales are going good, people like the product and I have repeat customers.  I have a bunch of new things in the works for fall to take people into winter.  I also had a few requests for products which, is really nice.

I find that I like putting together the herbal concoctions as much as I like writing up a pattern.  It takes the right combination of oils, and herbs and a good base to create a quality product.  I am also learning about layering scents.

A scent that really grabs you has notes of different intensities.

There is the top note: this is the one that grabs you first and then just as quickly it fades.  It is can be something like peppermint, nutmeg or frankincense.

There is the middle or heart note:  this one imparts warmth or fullness.  It can be a floral-like rose, jasmine or chamomile.

There is the base or dry note:  this one is what stays after the others fade.  It can be something like sandalwood, vanilla or patchouli.

I am really excited about working with scents again.  This is something I did when I was younger and I really enjoyed it.  I have some ylang-ylang which smells fruity and floral and I can't wait to see what it pares well with.

The thing I like about scents is that you can use their aromatherapy properties for healing, stimulating, invigorating, warming or cooling and many other things as well.

Anyway, this post is really long and disjointed so I should probably sign off.

Hugs to everyone!
May the seeds you planted in the spring be bearing beautiful and productive fruit.
Ruinwen
:)

This Is Who I Am

This is my meditation spot in Hawaii.  I spent our trip in the wee hours of the morning watching the sunrise over the water and thinking about my life and what I want to be doing with it.

Which is why I haven't written for a month.  I needed to figure some things out and I think I have.

Hawaii was, in a nutshell, life-changing for me.  DH and I have always loved the way the spirit of the island takes you by the hand the minute you land and all those things which make up the day to day grind...just melt away.

Yes, this happens on any vacation, but Hawaii for us is somehow different.  It feels like home to us.

I would be remiss if I didn't show you a few shots of our trip so here we go:

Rainbow Falls in Hilo

Madame Pele during the day

Madame Pele at night

Petroglyphs

South Point, the southernmost part of the US

Kealekekua Bay

Back to my life.  I love my life.  I have a beautiful family, wonderful friends, 3 awesome cats and many talents and skills.

I've been trying to focus myself into knitting; which I absolutely love to do.  I love to teach and I love to create new patterns...but knitting for-profit and deadlines...not so much.

Madame Pele and her Mother taught me that I don't have to be one thing.  I don't have to focus my creative juices into one little shining moment; I can spread them out and give each thing I create my focus.

So after much pondering on me and the Universe, I realized it was time to get back to basics.  Deep down I've been missing something and I didn't really realize what it was until I took some time to think and be alone with my thoughts.  I miss my herbs.

I used to have an extensive herbal collection that was cataloged and labeled by ailment and spiritual property.  I used to make teas for everything or little mojo bags for different needs.  I loved the smell of the herbs on my fingers and I felt very connected to the hearth and my healing energy through my herb-craft.

When we had some little children come into our house I knew how dangerous some of these herbs could be and abandoned this part of myself.

Last year we had the front bed and walk lined with plants.  What did I insist was planted?  Yep, herbs.  Rosemary, thyme, sage and lavender greet me every time I walk out the door and I adore taking a moment to smell their lovely scents before getting on with my day.

Last week I made a rosemary/peppermint foot scrub for some eager testers and it had rave reviews. I used coconut and sesame oil because they are absorbed into the skin quickly and really penetrate the layers to smooth and soften.  I used sugar because it is not as abrasive as salt and this was a restorative type scrub.  I also mixed in some Bach Essences to aid in washing away the stresses of life.

Feet, after all, are what you stand on and they support you throughout your choices, they take you where you need to go and they take a beating every day.  This isn't just a scrub; it is an experience. The oils are both ones that relax the body through their scents.  They are full of many properties that help strip the feet of their toxic layer and pamper and support the new emerging skin.

I am very proud of this scrub.  I put love and Reiki into it and it gave me a sense of peace to create it. I used organic, healthy products with no preservative or additives.  The herbs shine through in this scrub and connect one back to nature if only for a few minutes.  My testers said that the cooling effects stayed with them for quite a while during the day and their feet were both softer after using it for a week.

After talking with DH we decided some things about our company Vixenpath.  We are making Vixenpath an umbrella that will house our other interests and they may or may not get sub names...not sure on that yet.

We have always done a myriad of different things and it feels good to have them all under one roof, so to speak.  DH makes silver chain mail jewelry, I make beaded jewelry, I knit and crochet, I teach and design knitting, my Sister crochets, knits and is an artist (she drew our beloved logo) , I am a Reiki healer, I am an herbalist and I love to write...hence the blog.  lol

So, yeah, all that is Vixenpath.  Just like me, it was never about one focus...so it feels good to let it breathe and evolve.  I think my foot scrub took of more then a layer on my feet; I believe it cleansed my whole outlook on everything.

This week I joined the Herbal Academy of New England.  I have been waffling on this for a while. I finally decided to do it and I signed up for classes.  I like that you have to make tinctures, salves, oils and other concoctions to pass a class.  They have a huge herbal resource that I can access anywhere and that is a wonderful thing.  I feel like taking this refresher course will be really wonderful for my soul's connection to nature and I'm really excited about it.

Caitlin

I got to teach this last weekend as well and it was a lovely class with amazing ladies who each added something special to our time together.  Here is my Caitlin in yet another amazing colorway from Done Roving Yarns.  This one is #19 Rainforest.  I love this pattern and the way the yarn makes up.  I do love to knit and feel the fiber between my fingers.  After a month's hiatus...this is heaven.

So yeah, this is me...changing...evolving and circling back to my center and I feel radiant and full of happy bubbly goodness which I am happy to share with all my readers.

Hugs and happy crafting!
Ruinwen
:)

Just Breathe

I've been having this feeling that something is missing for a while now.  It took me a while to realize that the something that is missing is not a hole to be filled or something I need to fix.  There is space now where before I was doing things for my parents; which wasn't a chore but it was a constant part of my life.  Just like having another family live with us was a mixed blessing, but now that they have found a home of their own...everything is different.  To lose two such big influences on my life in one year has changed everything for me and my family.

This is what it feels like to have less stress.   I can come home and relax and do things and still be able to wash a load of clothes or dishes or make dinner and not feel hurried.  There are breaths of space between everything that wasn't possible for me before no matter how hard I tried to carve the way for them.   This is new and it feels unnatural for me, but this is how my life is supposed to flow.

Space is a good thing.  It allows air and possibility to exist.  In lace, it helps to show how beautiful everything is with some distance between the stitches.  I am starting to be able to focus on individual moments again because of the light between them.  Simple things really have started to shine for me again.

I got that old rush I used to get when I did ritual this Sunday.  It had slowly been coming back to me these last few months.  Ritual for me has always been such an important aspect of my faith.  I married a man who believes as I do and loves to raise some good energy.

In the old days, I had a circle and we would feast and do ritual every holiday without fail.  I missed that.  I missed the simple act of sitting around a fire and the house smelling of a roast sprinkled with magic because for a while it was just something we couldn't do due to circumstances that were beyond our control.

But now...I feel like a kid again and it is like coming home to a part of myself that I really missed. My son suggested we re-bless our Nightmare Prevention Bags that we made in '08.  There was a really bad year where he would recite the words every night before bed.  I can't tell you how many bad dreams I pushed away with my little bag.  It was time.

So one of the things I really like to do is write spells, prayers, blessings...really anything spiritual. Back in the days of my Wicca 101 classes; the thing that stuck with me was the whole rhymes have power thing.  I like the challenge of making it rhyme.  It puts a little of myself into it and my time and energy which in my opinion, both add some good energy.

Here are the words since they blurred in the photo:

Little bag full of herbs and things that scare
Make a hedge boundary that reads beware
No evil can reach me when I sleep
No negativity into my dreams may creep
Herbs of protection circle thrice
May your scent good dreams entice
I welcome in good beings to watch over me as I rest
As I fall asleep I know that I am very blessed.
So mote it be.

I also like correspondences.  So for the NPB I got some punches and made little cats, bats, spiders and maple leaves to add the power of the season to the mix.  The herbs I chose for the NPB were: coriander, cumin, cinnamon, dill, salt and frankincense.  Almost everything I do has some herbs blended in.

My son helped mix everything and punch out bats, cats, spiders and leaves.  We had fun and it didn't take really long to prepare everything.  We got some cat whiskers (they had fallen off over the years and we save every one of them) for a blessing from our four-footed friends.

I mulled some cider with cinnamon, cloves, allspice and ginger.  A roast was crocking as we were working and the two smells were just divine.

My husband and I cleared off the pad in the back and it didn't seem like work.  This song was starting in my heart and I could feel it running through my veins and filling me with this incredible joy.

The whole ritual was simple but the energy of family and community and connection were so strong that I can still feel the effects.  I feel like a battery recharged.  It is like the lapse of the past had never been.

In knitting news I have been working on my friend's projects.  She wasn't sure where she left off in the pattern and I picked it up after a long Friday at work and I really should have known better to just rush into something.  But alas, that is where my tale begins.  It was a moebius and I judged wrong where she was in the Fibonacci sequence and I was five rows off.

Now, I pride myself on helping people and she had entrusted me to finish these projects correctly so I had two options; rip or fix each stitch.  Really the time expended would be the same so I began to drop five rows down on each of the stitches and ladder them back up again.  All told in the end I fixed 1,360 stitches. But the Fibonacci is back on track and now I don't have to reknit those rows.

This is such a lovely yarn to work with.  It allows me to move all the stitches around and then just snaps back into place.  The colors are beautiful and soothing too.  I will have to ask my friend what it is.

Happy Crafting,
Ruinwen
:)

BTW: No Nauga's were harmed in the making of this post.  :)

Rosemary

"There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.” 

― Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic

In years past I have always had some rosemary by the front door.  I love the smell of it; that deep woodsy aroma that always makes me take a moment to pause and count my blessings.  Rosemary is effective in bringing a feeling of well-being and an increase in energy.  It is known as an antidepressant and a tonic to soothe the nerves.  It is a wonderful herb to aid people with anxiety or depression.

Rosemary, like most of the aromatic herbs, is good for digestion which, makes it a wonderful herb to cook with.  I love to steep a sprig of it in oil or vinegar for a few weeks.  The resulting liquid is so aromatic and adds a dash of flavor to roasted veggies or salads.  

I have always loved herbs and how different and individual they can be.  It is one of the reasons I worked so hard for my ND (Doctor of Naturopathy).  In days past I used to have shelves of herbs for physical ailments and spiritual uses.  I miss that.  In the past, I had a huge herb garden and I miss that too.  I miss the colors as the plants bloom, I miss being able to take a sprig here or there.  I miss watching nature unfold before my eyes.

You see all of our planters now are home to termite stations and the herbs would be inedible.  So for the past few years, I was at a loss what to do.  I bought these containers that have a place for the rain to gather and store.  We've been known to have drought conditions where to water your garden is to break the law, so this container is perfect.  The soil whisks up the water from below and keeps my plants happy even in a drought.  

This weekend I bought six little herbs: rosemary, thyme, lavender, nasturtium, sage and basil.  My wonderful sister helped me haul mulch and plant herbs and it made me feel so...centered to have a garden again.  With there six herbs I can make a myriad of things.  Lavender oil is good for so many things: a few drops in a bath can help to loosen up tight muscles, a few drops in a foot-bath can help with fatigue and inhaling lavender's scent can help to relieve stress and anxiety.

Nasturtium is a great source of vitamin C, stimulates the digestive system and can aid in regulating metabolism as well.  The herb contains the same antibiotic, anti-fungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties that can be found in mustard.  You can eat the leaves, flowers and seeds as each of these have a different flavor.

Thyme is another of those scents that I just love; I can feel the stress melting away every time I smell that intense aroma.  Thyme has thymol which has antiseptic and anti-fungal properties.  It is very effective as a throat gargle for sore throats.  If you can't stand the strong taste then cooking thyme in a nice broth and then straining out the herbs can be very soothing.  Thyme contains potassium, iron, manganese, calcium, magnesium and selenium.  Thyme also provides vitamin B6 which helps brain function and resistance against free radicals.   It can be added to almost any dish for a burst of flavor.

Sage has such beautiful flowers.  Sage is a wonderful in a tea for congestion, cough or sore throats.  It is an appetite stimulant that is delicious in sauces, flavoring meats and adding that "special touch" to stuffing.  Also, it's beautiful green leaves can be dried and used for smudging which is a shamanic way of cleansing an area or object through purifying smoke.  I love the smell of sage wafting through the house balancing the energies and bringing tranquility to our home.

Last but not least is basil.  Basil is a natural anti-inflammatory, it is good for stabilizing blood sugars, improving breathing and is high in antioxidants.  Spiritually it is connected to fire and that helps to explain the peppery taste.  Basil blended into a paste becomes pesto.  Everyone makes theirs different but I like a lot of garlic, some parsley, a little thyme, black pepper, EVO and a whole lot of cheese.  Blend it all together and let the flavors meld overnight and you have a sauce for pasta or veggies that can help to boost the immune system.

Of course, this is only a snippet of what each herb can do.  While I have used these herbs for all the purposes that I have stated here:  YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE STARTING ANY HERBAL SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM. 

All material and information presented here is for educational purposes only. The information on this site is general in nature and is not intended to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other healthcare professional and is not intended to treat, cure or prevent any condition or disease.

Sorry, I had to say that.  But everyone is different and people are on medications and have allergies and only a physician can tell you if herbs will work with your chemical make-up.

That said if the spirit moves you, plant some herbs and see what the different flavors do to spice up your food.  I'm having pork with thyme and rosemary tonight that has been cooking for hours and is sure to melt in my mouth.  Yumm!

May your life be full of flavor,

Ruinwen

:)

The Spiritual Side

Spirituality is the sacred center out of which all life comes, including Mondays and Tuesdays and rainy Saturday afternoons in all their mundane and glorious detail. ... The spiritual journey is the soul's life commingling with ordinary life.

-- Christina Baldwin

This is the time of year when everything is in flux. You can feel the creative energy building as Winter prepares to withdraw for another year and Spring starts to bud and blossom. It seems to me like the earth around me is sighing as the first warm rays hit her face.

Every season has its beauty but Spring and Autumn are my favorites. I love the amazing colors that suddenly burst out all over the land. Dull landscapes are suddenly dotted with hues of every color as life begins anew.

There is something so magical when plants just burst forth out of nothingness. It is with this love of nature that I’m planting my garden. To me a garden is sacred. Each plant brings with it a different blessing, a diverse way to heal and a special individual beauty that shines through as it grows.

Air, fire, water, and earth all come together to create something amazing from a single seed. In that tiny seed is everything that particular plant needs to develop to its full potential.

So I wait until the nights are no longer too cold for new seedlings to survive and plot and plan my little garden. I’m trying my hand at some new plants this time around and keeping the ones I can’t live without. I’ve been without a garden for too long.

I’ve been lovingly talking to my seeds of nasturtium, dill, basil, oregano, tomato, lavender, marjoram, parsley, thyme, rosemary and paprika all through winter. I want them to know how beloved they are to me and how much I’ve missed my garden.

I always had a garden up until the year I became pregnant with my son and due to complications, they forbade me to play in the dirt. Then the box where all my beloved herbs lived was poisoned with termite bait traps and spraying. It hurt me deep inside when they put the toxic death on my beautiful plants after asking them not to.

With the droughts and water bans, we couldn’t keep a garden alive. But last year I’d had enough with all of it and bought a system that keeps water in a reservoir so that even in a drought the plants would survive. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford it until late in the Summer and with all the family changes just didn’t get the seeds in the ground in time.

But this year I’m ready. I’ve got planters, seeds and a burning need to see things grow and thrive. I want fresh herbs to awaken dishes with flavor and vitality. I can’t wait to make my own paprika from these special pepper plants. I’m so excited to bite into a fresh homegrown tomato and feel the elements alive in its juices. I just can’t wait.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Here is a photo of my son doing a science experiment. For his own amusement, he wanted to try this little test of the powers air pressure. So we filled a glass with water to the very top and then placed an index card over the opening and turned the glass over. Voila, the index card stayed and no water came out. The whole experiment was even patient with me taking the picture and continued to hold as my son posed with it. I’d never seen this done so I thought it was pretty neat.

Such a simple mundane moment filled with magic. I think most of life is like that if you know where to look.

Today is one of those very foggy mornings where everything is just a little fey. Fog is powerful because it mixes mind with emotion and brings the two in balance. It helps you to see clearly. Or going the other direction it can hide things…distort things so that they are not as they seem at all. I guess how you perceive it is up to you. Like most of life.

We had a little sign on the fridge that I made when I was little, “Be happy you have a house to do chores around.” When you distinguish that doing chores is not drudgery but honoring a structure that provides you with shelter and maybe a nice tax break, you begin to see things differently.

I will admit I rarely have time to clean the house from top to bottom but it is hard for me to sleep when I’ve seen a dirty kitchen sink before bed. I like to see that stainless steel sparkle. I like to honor my kitchen where so many wonderful meals are prepared, teas are created, herbs are used and my family gathers to refuel.

My sister always jokes with me that I can find the spiritual side to anything…but that is because I’m quite sure everything has a spiritual side to begin with…if one takes the time to look.

May your week be full of magic and happiness as spring comes back to the world and blesses us all.

Happy crafting,

Ruinwen
:)

When Life Gives You Saffron Make Paella

I have a very clear memory of watching the Avengers on a little black-and-white TV and eating paella. It was chock full of chicken, sausage, and shrimp. It was my introduction to saffron and it was love at first bite.

For my Ostra bag this year I decided to use saffron. Usually, I frown on using saffron because of the cost. But this year I reasoned that this is one of the most important rituals that I do that sets the tone for the entire year…and if that isn’t worth some quality herbs then I don’t know what is.

I also decided if I was going to buy saffron it wouldn’t be from the grocery store. Something you might not know about me is I love working with herbs. I love how they awaken a sense that we don’t really use every day. The sense of smell is actually one of the most potent of memory triggers. When I smell an herb it reaches down into a part of me and tugs on the tendrils of my past joys and sorrows like nothing else can.

Herbalism was my focus when I got my N.D. I am also certified by the American Botanical Society. I used to have over 200 herbs that I used for everything from teas and tinctures to mojo bags. But since becoming a mother I found it hard to keep up with every one of my passions. And unfortunately, where I live we have drought conditions making it hard to grow anything…although my sage still lives through drought and ice.

I’ve missed making teas and more than once I’ve found myself reaching for a bottle that is long gone and it hurts a bit. You don’t realize what is really important until it is gone. So this year I opted to buy fresh beautiful herbs from all over the world:
Pink rose petals from Chile
Cinnamon from Indonesia
Vanilla beans for Madagascar
Blessed thistle from Hungary
Saffron from Spain

I have to say I was very impressed with HERBALCOM. The herbs are fresh and full of aroma. Which brings me back to saffron. Even now I can smell it on my fingers…mmmm. I know there is paella in my future.

Paella is named for the pan, a paellera, that the Spanish cook in. It is a flat pan with two handles. Everyone has their own version of what to put in the paella. Two years ago I made one with muscles, crab, clam, white fish, scallops, shrimp and lobster and it was *sound of lips smacking* divine.

But DH is allergic to seafood so I will make it with chicken and sausage. My son is excited to try saffron and has also approved the chicken sausage combo. So here is my recipe. But the thing about paella is that you should make it as your mood dictates. I also like a bit of spice in mine so you can change that too. As long as you have some rice, saffron, and olive oil it should be okay. If you want to make it vegetarian just substitute the meat for veggies. Also, follow the instructions on your rice for the liquid amount. All rice is different.

Note: If you have saffron threads they need to “bloom” or soak in some liquid in order to let their beautiful flavors develop.

Ruinwen’s Paella

¾ cup of olive oil
1 med onion, chopped
One clove of garlic per person, minced
One piece of chorizo sausage per person
One piece of chicken per person
½ cup of rice per person
3 cups of broth chicken or vegetable broth for every cup of rice (check package)
¼ tsp of saffron
½ tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup red, orange, or yellow pepper
½ tsp of cayenne if you want more spice

Brown sausage and set it aside. Drain sausage grease to ½ tsp and sear chicken.

Heat the olive oil in a separate pan over medium high heat. Add the onion and red pepper to the oil and cook until the onion begins to soften. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant or about 5 minutes.

Pour in the rice and let it absorb the oil and become translucent, which is about another 5 minutes. Add sausage and chicken, broth, paprika, saffron and cayenne. Cover and cook per rice’s instructions. In this case it is 25 minutes.

Remove from heat. Taste. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Stir. Cover again and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy.

:)

I don’t mean to limit the use of saffron to paella. Countries all over the world enjoy its unique flavor. Here are but a few dishes from over the globe:
Bouillabaisse from France
Risotto from Milan
Some tajine recipes from Morocco employ saffron