Everyone is trying to Figure Out what's Good for them...

Bread comes up in a lot of conversation lately. Not all bread is created equal and apparently not all people do well eating bread and I know everyone has to find what is right for them. I am not taking issue with to gluten or not to gluten...

Grandma's Bread Platter

But coming upon Grandma's bread plate I found myself reflecting on how bread is one of the oldest foods in our world. Every culture has a variation.  Ah, the bread that has been shared over time...The word companion comes from the Latin  for com (with) and panis ( bread).

But we needn't be literal, bread  has come to mean sustenance, and yours may not be made from grain...but the hope and the prayer remain that mankind may rightly win his bread and protect the ancient gifts of this earth while so doing.   And that there be real bread enough for everyone.

....Give us this day our daily bread...

with best wishes,

Jeannette

Friend or Foe and How Do You Know?

A simple spice has reminded me that calling things by their proper names according to their actual properties is important and helpful.  It reminded me of the value of looking into subjects more deeply and unearthing distinctions that might otherwise be blurred.  It made me think about how substances can be related but different, or how even the same substances or actions  can be used to different effects.  I thought about how some consequences are unintended, but there they are anyway and  how much choices can  matter,  and how and why things happen and what can be learned from mistakes.  But for now I'll  just tell you about my botanical investigation and leave you to your own applications in other domains.

There's a Middle Eastern spice combination  that a local restaurant floats in olive oil as a bread dip.  Za'atar is a combination of ingredients mostly very familiar to me, salt, thyme, sesame seeds and oregano,  and one that surprised me, sumac.

Sumac in my mind always has the word poison in front of it; poison sumac, poison ivy and poison oak  are all bushes whose oils can cause  welts of pain and itching to the skin of many people. Unfortunately, as a native  Californian, I have been intimately familiar with poison oak, but I learned quickly as child, how to spot my enemy in all its seasonal guises.  

 Although  I've read that some Native Americans of California nibbled at young poison oak shoots and I know that currently there are homeopathic preparations of titrated poison oak to teach the body to  defend itself against the plant irritants, I wasn't so sure that I wanted to eat sumac on my bread. But then I reminded myself that  I didn't really know for a fact what exactly it was I was eating.  

 I found a small commercially  packaged box of sumac at a store  but the supplier did not identify the substance beyond its common name. The ingredients simply read "ground sumac berries." At least I had learned what part of sumac I'd been eating,  but of what kind of sumac ?  The trees and plants I know by name I know mostly by their common names.  In most realms in life, I often  know just enough to know  that if I would pay a little closer attention, I might actually know just enough to keep myself out of trouble.   I realized I needed the botanical scientific descriptors to find out anymore about  "Sumac."  Latin isn't really,  as some like to say, a dead language, it's just that for the most part it's no longer spoken and therefore doesn't tend to change.  Speakers of all languages the world over can refer to species with the same name by using the Latin botanical descriptors.  

I found help in my  Guide to Field Identification of TREES of North America that I keep handy  in the door pocket of my car.   SUMAC is quite a big family and as I read about the clan I was in for a few surprises.  My tree book reminded me that members of a family  are then grouped into Genus and then further grouped into species.  So Family, Genus ( always capitalized) and then species ( lower case).

"CASHEW (SUMAC) FAMILY  (Anacardiaceae)   This family, represented in temperate and tropical regions, comprises about 600 species of trees, shrubs and vines, with resinous, acrid or caustic juices."  page 202

The Family includes, to name only a few using their common names: 

 Mangos in Florida, 
California Pepper trees, 
Texas Pistachios, Cashews, 
Florida Poisontree,  
Staghorn Sumac, 
Shining Sumac 
and yes, 
Poison-Sumac.

So while  poison sumac is indeed in the same family  as  the sumac used as a spice, it is in a different Genus.  The scientific botanical name of the poison oak that  had caused me so much itching after childhood jaunts in the hills is  Toxicodendron diversilobum, although it used to be referred to as  Rhus toxicodendron.   Poison-sumac is Toxicodendron vernix  and the sumacs that are used  to spice food are Rhus coriaria.

So they are different, but they are related...and I did find some minor cautions and lots of other possible health benefits  when I searched on the internet using the botanical name, Rhus coriaria.   I also learned its common name, Sicillian sumac. 

Parables of poison plants and spices tease my mind as I think about local, national and global stages...but I'll keep my promise and let you apply any analogies you might think of,  and as always,  let me know what you think if you like.

 best wishes!

Jeannette

The Cast, Iron Pots, Open Fire, Wild Boar

On the last Saturday in April a friend showed up with wild boar, veggies and bread...

 It would never occur to me to procure wild boar or even bacon at the local grocery but

 it's really great when someone wants to cook for you, isn't it?

 With  a jacket and the fire the evening was just warm enough to enjoy but we still decided to

eat inside...

The Most Important Nutrient ... Bread for Thought

Sometimes

when I eat I realize that gratitude 

might be

 the most important ingredient  

of my breakfast..

nay of the whole day!

Night Life in Carmel

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and wonder if you turned off the.....well, whatever it is that you turned on prior to retiring?

In my case it was a dehumidifier I had set in a closet in the main house.  I suppose the middle of the night is a subjective measurement.  I am talking three in the morning which might not be every one's middle, but it was feeling very middle to me. Once awakened by my dereliction of duty, a retinue of ancillary thoughts qued right up to dance, brightly lit, across the movie screen in the otherwise dark theatre of my now sleepless brain. First I reasoned that there was no real need to get up and stop the machine. It has plenty of capacity, it could winnow and hold several gallons of water; but I had a harder time convincing myself it was wise to leave it running. I imagined touching the electric cord and then the plug and thought of warmth, then heat, then fire. All very unlikely, but surely I should get up and trot on through the garden and the night, make my way to the lonely dehumidifier and shut it down. I was resolved, this was the right course of action, but before I put my feet to the floor, my gallant man awoke and volunteered his services.  I, of course, accepted and even volunteered to go with him, but he said there was no need for us both to get up.

He returned from the task, cheerful and full of praise for the glory of the last hours of the night. The sky was clear, stars visible, the air soft with warmth from the previous day of unseasonable heat. Then the phone rang. Our daughter was to catch an early morning flight to come to see us, but she had been woken with a call that her flight was canceled due to fog.   San Diego faces the same ocean we do; true it is a little further south, but fog enough to ground the plane?  After various communications back and forth and calls to the airlines, it was determined that the flight was reinstated and we, lured by the warm coastal air, decided to abandon our bed, dress and wander out into the very early morning.  After all, our girl was already up and being ferried to the airport by a kind friend, we might as well get ourselves in sync with her.

We thought we'd walk a little but the talk kept returning to where we could find a very early breakfast. We drove past the 24 hour Safeway and headed into the sleeping village by the sea.  As soon as we parked on Ocean Avenue we knew the cock had not yet crowed in Carmel.

Fantasies of  bakers who rise before dawn and create delectables worthy of every extra calorie that the pastry envelopes, coffee wafting hot and fresh cream chilled to keep the goodness captured...these were the ideas that had really driven us out into the morning.  And then we spotted, out in the dark, the real walkers.  There was a serious woman in a reflective tape vest, her arms pumping as energetically as her legs. Another denizen of the streets appeared ardently talking on her speaker phone as she powered down the middle of the empty traffic lane.  On the path above the beach we saw a small group of walkers with a cadre of dogs in graduated sizes each connected to their mistress by imaginary leashes. The shopkeepers may sleep in but the lean and fit were already on task. 

We walked a little, I think, but perhaps it only qualified as strolling.  Two women strode past us, "Look, they are walking lots faster than we are," I said by way of friendly greeting. 

"You need to get your hands out of your pockets," I heard in response.

Of course it was my camera I had in there...we sauntered over to one of the bakeries...the window display didn't help our state of mind any.  But we knew that in the long run, we'd grab a few things at the store and

go home and make our own breakfast.

While at the grocery our cell phone rang.  It was our daughter calling to let us know that she had been dropped off at the airport only to learn that  the flight had once again been canceled due to fog...

We tried to stay sunny about this...no use getting upset about these things, as long as she is safe.

And so we returned  home and ground and pressed our own beans, and toasted our favorite no flour bread.

And while my gallant husband went back to bed I let kitties in and out the door and quieted the dog and downloaded these pictures of  beaded birds and sugary treats and electric flowers in the shops of the little town that won't wake up for hours.   Next flight arriving sometime before nine this evening....a nap may be in order.

Or wait, is it too late to just go back to bed?

Wednesday morning P. S.  

~Last night was a safe and happy landing~

Now tonight we await word of our first daughter's return from  her two month artistic work visit to Austria.

Traditions shared: Blackberry Pie Summers and Macedonian Spanakopita

September's arrival threw me into a mini panic, summer weather hasn't quite arrived yet, so summer can't be over. But it is September and Labor Day is coming.  Yikes, fall and winter must be lined up right  behind that coastal fog bank that has blanketed us so consistently.  I knew I had to beat back these concerns so I set out to gather blackberries to make a  pie. Blackberries were the wild free fruit of my childhood summers in Mill Valley and then later a big part of our children's summer day's in Sebastopol. It's family tradition to pick and eat almost just as many berries fresh off the bush as we'd  bring home for jam and pie.  As one of our girl's often said, "I don't really need a bucket, I have my own little bucket right here..." and she'd pop a big purple-blue-black-juicy- berry still warm from the sun into her mouth.

As there are no blackberries ripening in my current neighborhood I set out for the  farmer's market.  You've heard that scarcity and demand can control price?  The organic berry farmer from warmer than Carmel Watsonville was charging more this week than he had all summer for the same amount of blackberries because, he explained, these were the last of the crop, he didn't have any more berries to sell.

I paid the price,  reminding myself that he had not only grown and tended them, he had picked them and boxed them and driven them to market and he would pay tax on the sale and tax on the land and what, after all  was $30 for all that work?  Yes, I  was seeing just how serious I was about having some semblance of summer as I have always thought of it... and that includes a blackberry pie.

 However, before I could get things any further along than mixing in sugar and lemon juice and corn starch to thicken the berries ( and take the picture above), our friend Blagojce arrived with sacks of groceries.  He had been promising to make spanakopita like they do "back home" in Macedonia.  Of course for such an offer I was willing to get out of the way.  As the berries need to sit a bit in their thickening sweetening state.... and as we have a one derriere kitchen in the cottage, I took refuge behind my camera.

Before I knew what hit me...there was butter melting

Leeks were sauteed

and spinach and chard had been cooked...apples had been cut...and simmered

 I mean things were cooking...or I should say men were cooking...

Layers of filo dough are brushed with butter and then feta and cooked spinach an chard and arranged...

rolling it up

When Mark's assistance wasn't required...we had live music

curled up like a snail...

These are oven- ready having been basted with butter and sprinkled with sesame seeds....

One batch baked receiving more butter and another ready to go in the oven...some are leek, some are greens and feta and some are apple...

they all were good.

             And now there was room and time for me to mix up my dough and roll out the crust for my               pie...before dinner was served.

Oh, and corn on the cob was steamed...that's pretty summertime, isn't it?

By the time we had our Macedonian spanakopita, eaten with big bowls of yogurt, the pie was cooling.

How about pie for breakfast?  Now that sounds like summertime.

No men were injured in the making of this dinner.

~~~

A Meta Blog Moment ~ Blog Types and Why People Write Them

I never do this...just open up the new post box and start typing without a clue as to what I will be entering.

Have you have ever mentioned that you have a BLOG to someone who  has not ventured into the "Blog-o-sphere" and you see the eyes glaze over and the lips form the word as if it might dirty up their mouth a bit..."a blog?"

Why do we share what we share? BLOGS... Some are very specific and generous and it seems obvious...there is much to share.  It got me thinking about all the different kinds of blog categories that I have encountered.  It also made me think about how my own two blogs can't be tightly categorized themselves.

I  began making a list...hmm...maybe I should sort these approximately alphabetically so I don't hurt any one's feelings.  Obviously I am not going to even think of all the types, let alone write them down.  And of course there are some "types" of blogs that I just rush right over, like stepping over the leavings of a stray dog, trying not to even break stride while employing full caution.


To the list then and my annotated comments and a few referrals  to blogs that might illustrate my point.  Incomplete, partial and biased though it may be, please remember, I do take comments and you can tell me what I have left out.  And I ask you now, as Daniel Webster did when he finished  his first dictionary, please notice how much I have managed thus far to  include.


*Arts and Crafts  There is an amazing amount of sewing,  painting and creating going on. Sometimes I am inspired and sometimes am so impressed I just marvel.  I have seen tutorials that are flat out designed to teach from A to Z.  I have shared a few things I have made, mostly just to join in the fun.
*Book reviews Books take time, steer me to the best ones.  I have written up a few reviews.  I actually find it helpful in terms of thinking through the reading.  I am grateful for good reviews I have read from others.
*Cooking There are a lot folks prowling the web looking for recipes for meals that make themselves while the cook is surfing.  However, there are a  lot of real cooks  blogging and sharing their skill and the joy of feeding people good food.  I have shared a recipe or two and I must say in my behalf that I try not to be a bad influence.  Kale and chard, not chocolate, have been my public focus.  ( You do know by now that  I am not a tell-all kind of person.)
*Creative Writing The art and craft of writing...well...a wise author knows one has to be careful posting work in progress because if it is good, it just might get clipped and shared, copyright be d**ned...but writing about writing lives large. 

*Farming  I love your horses and chickens and goats  and donkeys and all the other animals that don't live at my house right now.  I still have a dog, two cats and do live amidst the wild wanderers, so a few animals make occasional appearances in my blog land.
*Families   Bloggers have uncommonly cute children...( please don't spoil them.) And consider not printing  out their full name and birth dates and all too... did you notice one of the recent apprehended possible spies was using the name and birth records of a child who had died at 6 months of age? Also think about how you will feel when your little ones are larger and ask you in very convincing terms to please just take all posts involving their potty training down now or else.  But the interactions and support and wisdom sharing that does go on via the family blogs is something to behold. 
*Gardening I  enjoy seeing what others are growing and what they are learning about the primal struggle known as gardening.  Recently a woman asked me what we have in our greenhouse and after naming a few of our lovely plants, I added "and lots of mealy bugs."  She had a solution, another "bug" commonly called  "mealy bug destroyers."   We got some expensive little Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, and if they work, well, I am sure that either I or my husband will blog a bit about  them. 
*Health & Well Being I am thinking of starting a new blog...about the need to add ourselves to our list of doctors....self-doctoring.   My first piece of advice will be based on how we too need to observe the  Hippocratic Oath: "First do no harm." It is really the best way to take care of ourselves and often the hardest with which to comply.
*Journey Logs... classic journals that document climbing mountains, sailing the seas, touring foreign lands. I have seen lovely photos of places I am unlikely to ever visit, painstakingly documented by people I will never know...amazing...thank you.
*Personal Journey Spiritual Blogs There are a lot of encouragers on the web.
*Movies  Movies old and new pop up in blogs. I find myself reading a blog in India and laughing about old American movies.  This link could very easily also been in the stream of consciousness section, if you read any of him you will understand why.
*Music  I haven't added any music to my blogs...and I often leave my speakers off so if you have music on yours I may not have heard it, unless that is obviously what your blog is all about.  But as I sit at the computer, live music is all about me...so...I am listening!

*Nature blogs I live on the Pacific Coast 

  and I try to share it photographically with you frequently, but I am not as good about it as some of the bloggers I've been reading.  One man in Yosemite posts almost every day.

*(Get) Organized Blogs You know, like how to get your kit together. People sit down at their computers and start realizing they don't want to end up on the next televised production of "Hoarders" and so they blog about purposing to get organized and get rid of things they don't need or use. Oh, and then there is talk about UFOs  that means, I think, unfinished objects...projects that are haunting one's psyche.  Confessing UFOs on a blog moves the project  up to a higher level  of priority and completion then not only gives one something to photograph and blog about it sets one free for new creations.  The thing is, this actually seems to work.  Folks that blog seem to be getting more things done.

*Photography...the pictures I have seen...thank you all. And there are even those who would teach us how to use cameras and photo editing programs more effectively. 
*Political Blogs  It was Will  Rogers who said   "On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does."  but  I better let you find your own political blogs...people tend to get hot over this stuff.  Wasn't it G. K. Chesterton who said something like: It's good to get into hot water, it keeps you clean. Okay so over on Write Purpose I  speak up a little about politics.  I try to be diplomatic...or is it that I try to get all the curved lines in focus knowing that I won't be able to straighten them out?
*Special Interest Blogs Thanks to this blogger, I have seen lighthouses all over the world...straightforward and a truly special "special interest."
*Stream of Consciousness Blogs Hey, I am trying today (well, thank last night for this really, that's when I typed up most of it, but I felt enough concern for you all that I didn't post until ( wait, I still haven't posted it, so we will have to wait and see if and when that happens.  I am obviously a firm believer in giving myself permission...never mind that is another story, back to my blog about blogs. (And if you had an English teacher who told you that if you have to use parenthesises there may be a better, more elegant and comprehensible way to say whatever you are trying to say, he or she was right...but that too is another story.)  

*Stream of Unconsciousness Blogs   Enough said.
*Technology  A type of blog where I might go for help, but you are unlikely to find me writing one that would be of any help.
*What I did today blogs Clearly for obvious reasons, some people can pull this off better than others.  I mean, by all means, it might help all of us to write down what we did on any specific day, but some of  it clearly is not, shall we say,  fit for human consumption.
* What I wish I did today blogs  no cheese down that tube
*What I should do tomorrow blogs this could have some promise
*What you should do tomorrow blogs Ah, thanks...I think.

*All the kind of blogs I have left out unintentionally or otherwise blogs
*And then...blogs about blogging ...is this a Meta blog?
 ~~~~~~

I warned you it would be incomplete....the day is calling. Look what Mark just brought in from the garden:

Now should I just press post?  Or should I struggle back here soon and find all the photos that would so delightfully augment this?...Later! We need to go for a little drive and pick up the mail.  And when should I find all the "typos" and "thinkos"?  I better not post this yet.....

Confused about Cosmetics, Soaps, Sunscreens? Check out the Environmental Working Group DATABASE

"Pollution is not only an "environmental" issue, it's a public health issue. Learn about the health effects of toxic chemicals that we absorb through our water, food and the products that we use." EWG

The other day I spent hours on a site  learning about ingredients in common skin care products. You may have recently noticed in the news that the FDA says something normally good for us, Vitamin A, can cause trouble if we wear it on our skin in the sun.

"Recently available data from an FDA study indicate that a form of vitamin A, retinyl palmitate, when applied to the skin in the presence of sunlight, may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions (NTP 2009). This evidence is troubling because the sunscreen industry adds vitamin A to 41 percent of all sunscreens."
So  says Environmental Working Group.  That is a link to their sunscreen guide...Mommas especially read up on sunscreen for your children.  And lovers...you might want to read Not so Sexy ..."A rose may be a rose. But that rose-like fragrance in your perfume may be something else entirely, concocted from any number of the fragrance industry’s 3,100 stock chemical ingredients, the blend of which is almost always kept hidden from the consumer."

I was already being careful with sunscreen having looked at the EWG sunscreen guide last year, but then realized one of my favorite  face washes and lotions also has Vitamin A in it. That product  has now been relegated to night time use only.   I started dragging  everything out of the  bathroom cabinet.  Even if a particular product has not been analyzed on the site, you can put in the ingredients and read about those on the Cosmetics Database .     You'll find products listed with their individual ingredients assessed.  Everything is linked and backed up with resources.

 Products get two scores.  One score  has to do with what they call DATA GAPS...some things aren't researched and if products have ingredients on which no study has been done, that is noted.  The other score is a 0-10  number to indicate safety  where 0 is desirable.  I was happy to see that ALOE VERA GEL is rated 0.  Neem Oil which is a great garden product but also used in cosmetics gets a 0 too.   I will let you look up the bad guys yourselves. Once you have figured out whether or not your shampoo, or toothpaste or skin cream is the right choice for you then you can compare radiation emissions on various brands of cell phones or check out water purity reports.   

Of course the obvious answer is to use fewer and simpler products.  There are catchy phrases and endorsements on many products that really don't  stand up to scrutiny. Some words that tend to lull us into feeling safe, "dermatologists-tested,"  "organic,"  or "natural,"  may not really be  trustworthy claims.  With no required safety testing companies can use a lot of chemicals  that can raise havoc with our health.  A little  label reading coupled with a little knowledge beautifully organized and you have a working example of the power of  information.

Consider printing up the Shopper's guide to Safe Cosmetics and carry it to the store with you ...and yes...I had to get my magnifying glass out to see some of this stuff, but I am glad I did.  What is PEG anyway?  And why should we avoid Methylchloroisothiazolinone? 

And now a little aside on last week's technology difficulties. On a whim I decided to see if the USB  port (I just learned that USB stands for "universal serial bus," so excuse me while I type that out in hopes of remembering that ) might just work and after repeated attempts last week to download pictures with no success.. the port put the info on the bus and  downloaded my snapshot of  my computer and the lotions I was investigating.  Maybe it was a vanity issue, how could my computer not download a picture of itself?

In the meatime, the VSC light and check engine light came on in my car...so that got $$ fixed $$.  Good thing my computer hasn't crashed yet! 

Okay, out into the sun...Hat, sunglasses, and protective clothing...
                                                                       ~~~~~~~~~

Got Giant Chard? Stuff It. An Old Recipe from Laurel's Kitchen

I didn't have time to look at my garden for a time and a half a time and I found the chard not quite "as high as an elephant's eye " but the leaves were rather daunting at close to two feet tall.

Years ago I learned a recipe out of the Laurel's Kitchen recipe book for stuffed chard leaves.  Over the years I improvised based on what was on hand and generally stuffed chard leaves are always good.
The other day, relying on memory, I was sharing the basic idea of the recipe with a friend who was kindly rescuing me from some of these giant leaves.  I could visual the ingredients, I could see a 1/2 cup of green and I was remembering the delightful flavoring of dill weed .  "And 1/2 a cup of chopped dill, "I told her.  She, being a smart woman, didn't believe me.  " It does seem to be a lot," I agreed.  "Maybe it's because I use fresh, " I reasoned.  "Dry is more potent, right? "   My friend told me she would use about a teaspoon... but I could still see that 1/2 cup in my mind of nice chopped green and smell the lovely dill.

When I got home I checked the recipe and tried to telephone her to tell her it is indeed only 1 teaspoon of dill and a 1/2 cup of parsley which I had neglected to mention at all.  Her phone was off the hook and all I got was a busy signal.  After dinner I caught up with her.  Fortunately she had made stuffed chard leaves according to her own lights, using 1 teaspoon of dried dill weed.  They were , she says quite good.  so in case anyone else around here has to help me eat all the chard I have grown, I am showcasing the actual  recipe, unspoiled by my errant memory. 

Just click on this photo to make it bigger.

 The bottom of  page 241 of  the 1976

 Laurel's Kitchen A Handbook for Vegetarian Cookery & Nutrition

I should be embarrassed, I suppose, to let you see this old dirty page, but hey, it isn't as bad as the page that sports oatmeal cookies and  it means I did some cooking and that is always a victory. 

~~~

If you like to read about Kale click here.

That Some Day We May Ride Bare-Back

In some ways my last two posts were about very small subjects, tiny cakes and vegetables, yet in some ways it's not small subject matter at all. I was reminded of that by several comments I received as direct emails. One especially made me laugh, from a friend who is pushing her self valiantly in preparation for a marathon. She says my repentance vegetable picture is helping her consider forgiving me for the prior post photos.

My brother S. often gets us all to laugh when he holds his hands out to weigh decisions in a justice blinded position, and intones very seriously his symbols to represent a variety of decisions: "broccoli or chocolate, broccoli or chocolate." My brother eats lots of broccoli, and probably only eats chocolate when he runs into it by fortunate happenstance.

Our daughter, S.B. also recently wrote as she was reflecting on various accidents she, family and friends have recently experienced, about striking a balance...

"I am thankful for the health and life of my family and friends. I have a heightened regard for life and health, and hope my friends and family are careful to take the necessary precautions in this world. Not to live in fear, but to truly appreciate the value of what we have and treat it with honor and respect. I make a renewed commitment to live a life full of fun and adventure and excitement, tempered with due reverence to the fragility of life."

And then one of my favorite masters of exploring the full spectrum of life's joys and sorrows left this message on the path. I happened upon it this morning on page 146 of A Year with C. S. Lewis ~Daily Readings from his Classic Works. It is a snippet of his thoughts in Miracles published in 1947.)

"To shrink back from all that can be called Nature into negative spirituality is as if we ran away from horses instead of learning to ride. There is in our present pilgrim condition plenty of room ( more room than most of us like) for abstinence and renunciation and mortifying our natural desires. But behind all asceticism the thought should be, 'Who will trust us with the true wealth if we cannot even be trusted with the wealth that perishes?' Who will trust me with a spiritual body if I cannot even control an earthly body? These small and perishable bodies we now have were given to us as ponies are given to schoolboys. We must learn to manage: not that we may some day be free of horses altogether but that some day we may ride bare-back, confident and rejoicing, those greater mounts, those winged, shining and world shaking horses which perhaps even now expect us with impatience, pawing and snorting in the King's stables. Not that the gallop would be of any value unless it were a gallop with the King; but how else--since he has retained his own charger--should we accompany Him? "

It's always a great help to me when others put things in perspective. I
haven't been horseback riding lately, in fact I haven't even got to pet a pony lately, but I did fit into a wet suit a few days ago that a month ago I couldn't have squeezed into no matter how much help I got and therefore was able to once again climb down into that stone walled pot of soup I wrote about last week . This time I swam though the arch and out into the Pacific Ocean. It was very invigorating.If I should have and take the opportunity again I would hope increased health and strength would allow me to be more even more, as Lewis says, confident and rejoicing.

I suppose I could title this Bread on the Water post of broccoli, chocolate, inspiring quotes, horses and ocean adventures as "Fool on the Water," but images Lewis conveyed of joyful horsing around have stayed with me and so I leave you with a mountain rather than a coastal image. This is a picture I took years ago on brother L. and sister K.'s ranch. Those are the Marble Mountains of northern California. I hope the pure beauty of what I snapped can make up for the lack of actual pixels.

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Repentence for being a bad influence

I have been reminded, by the "other" very dear person, via a comment in my prior post, that we are a great influence on each other, for better or for worse, and so I humbly post this image in an effort to soothe with the cooling colors of green any longings inflamed by previous photos:

If it is any consolation, we had bell pepper, mushrooms, chard and onions at lunch and we had cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, lettuce and avocado at dinner before the the aforementioned and photographed pretties.
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Off the Chart Desserts

A very dear person is visiting us today. This special someone when younger, often had trouble making up her mind when dining out...decisions , decisions... so when asked which petites fours she wanted to bring home from the charming Patisserie Bechler in Pacific Grove, she had a very novel approach to solving the dilemma, just get one of each. Don't worry, Grandma B., they are just to look at, honest! And speaking of looking, I have not looked at your "chart" except the time you asked me to.... so fill it up or leave it as blank as you like, that's what I do with mine.

I think it must be time for tea...

fancy "bread" on the water....wow
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Sunset, Phoebe Cat, Presents in the Mail & Kale

Saturday, a day of presents from the garden...spinach, chard and kale...a reappearing theme here, because without a concerted effort, the needed quota of veggies just don't get eaten, but we're trying.
It was also a day of presents in the mail * Thank you Beth,Rosannah,Susan D., Gretchen and Babs...and on Friday I had already been feted by Susan H. & Debi and today Sarah Beth and Mark are cooking and giving. Saturday was also a day of tea and reading on the cottage deck because the sun felt so good.

Phoebe challenged me to game of hide and see and almost always wins when I try to capture her full face photograph. Playing above my head in the trees, she hid her eyes at the last second.

And then there were presents from the sky and sea as Saturday came to a close.

And I must say...it is now a very lovely Sunday.