Quote of the Day: Pema Chödrön
“We think that if we just meditated enough or jogged enough or ate perfect food, everything would be perfect. But from the point of view of someone who is awake, that’s death. Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self-contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. It doesn’t have any fresh air…
To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest….
When we wake up, we can live fully without seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, without re-creating ourselves when we fall apart… We can give up on being perfect and experience each moment to its fullest.”
Pema Chödrön from When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Experiencing each moment to it’s fullest is something Mr Chiots and I try to do. It’s easy in good times and difficult in tough times. Embracing the tough times truly does make them easier and helps you see them for the learning and growth that they provide! Living well is all about experiencing everything that comes our way, whether good or bad!
Do you try to avoid difficult situations or do you experience them for what they bring to your life?
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Bacon in the New Year
Happy New Year! Last night we celebrated as usual with a themed party with friends. Everyone came over to our place for a night of good food, fun games and ringing in the new year. Our theme was BACON, you can really go wrong with that. All the food contained bacon in some form. I was in charge of the main dish, so I made homemade pizza topped with horseradish cream cheese (instead of the tomato sauce), roast beef, bacon, caramelized onions, and cheese. There was also a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette, bacon, walnuts and dried cranberries. For dessert there was maple ice cream with candied bacon pieces on top.
I wrote this post before everyone arrived so I don’t have any photos of what everyone else brought. But I know bacon wrapped shrimp, bacon wrapped steak, bacon wrapped dates, bacon ranch dip with veggies and a few other bacon items were on the list. It’s always fun to have a theme for a party (at least I think so). Of course we also had champagne and sparkling pomegranate juice to toast at midnight (no bacon champagne could be found).
How did you celebrate the New Year arriving?
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Quote of the Day: Alice Waters
“The things most worth wanting are not available everywhere all the time.”
We’ve just passed the solstice and the days are getting longer. The solstice also officially kicks off winter, the lean months. When you try to eat locally and seasonally, this time of year can get to be a little long; especially when you’re used to eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Lately, I’ve been craving something green. For now, that spot in my diet is filled with sauerkraut, cabbage, rutabagas, turnips, carrots and potatoes.
Of course I could go to the local supermarket and get lettuce and any other green thing I wanted, but that kind of defeats the purpose. If I did, I probably wouldn’t enjoy them as much when I was harvesting them fresh from my garden.
What fruit or vegetable are you missing that’s out of season?
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My Christmas Gifts
Yesterday, Mr Chiots and I finally celebrated our Christmas. What did I find under the tree?
First off, Mr Chiots and I bought each other snowshoes. Technically they weren’t Christmas presents, but around this time of year just about everything gets labeled as a gift. They’re nothing fancy, just the cheapest ones offered by L.L.Bean. We took them out for a test hike yesterday and LOVED them. No doubt we’ll get more than our money’s worth with these.
I also received a few cookbooks: The River Cottage Cookbook and River Cottage Every Day
Lucky me, I even found a Clarington Forge long handled shrubbery spade and potato fork under my tree. I would have never purchased the potato fork for myself, it’s rather pricey, but I’ll take it as a gift. Clarington Forge tools are well made, this potato fork is a beastly tool, heavy and very well made, it will certainly last me the rest of my life and probably long outlive me.
Mr Chiots and I are very practical gift givers, generally we buy useful stuff for each other. He lucked out with a nice Filson wool shirt, a wool sweater, new suspenders and a few books as well.
What did you find under your tree this year?
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Friday Favorite: SNOW
It’s been a long time coming, but winter seems to have finally arrived. Fitting I guess, since it was officially winter just a week ago. We had a good snowfall yesterday, about 6-8 inches or so. Mr Chiots, my dad and I all went out hiking for a few hours in the morning to enjoy it. We really do enjoy the snow.
Now perhaps we’ll finally be able to get those snowshoes out and break them in. The garden really needs this blanket of snow, it’s a valuable source of insulation and protection for the plants. It’s just in time, the weather is going to start dipping down into the single digits this weekend.
