Seeking Solitude

I have been a bit absent here, I know. For a couple of months my life has been a social whirlwind, blogging is a social arena too and I just needed a break. We all need time with our own thoughts, quiet times when we can recharge. One of the books I am reading right now is ‘Freedom of Simplicity’ by Richard J. Foster. I read this passage a couple of days ago and it pretty much sums up what I have been feeling for weeks.

“Many of us would find great relief in discovering our own cycles of activity and quiet. For example, I function best when I alternate between periods of intense activity and of comparative solitude. When I understand this about myself I can order my life accordingly. After a certain amount of immersion in public life, I begin to burn out. And I have noticed that I burn out inwardly long before I do outwardly. Hence, I must be careful not to become a frantic bundle of hollow energy, busy among people but devoid of life. I must learn when to retreat, like Jesus, and experience the recreating power of God.”

Foster says, “I can order my life accordingly”.  Those moments aren’t just going to happen naturally, especially in our too fast culture. I am deliberately making room for those quiet times. I am forcing myself to say “no”, even to  good things. (See Andrea, I am taking your wise advice!) Last Sunday I took a walk with my family. The girls were off gathering nature bits to make fairy houses, my husband was off studying trees, I had a chance to sit and just think and be still.  I took this photo of the swans, and now I am using it as a reminder to me to be proactive in seeking out quiet moments and not just sitting back, waiting for them to happen. You have to make them. It does takes effort, it may mean saying “no” to people. If you are like me the benefits will be so great that when you don’t have breaks of solitude you will feel very lonely for them. 

Valentine and Sugar Plum

First, I want to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day.

I took this photo last month at The NY Botanical Garden, garlands of perfect hearts.

There are many dolls in my everyday life. It's about time I put one up on this blog. 

This gal is The Sugar Plum Fairy. I snapped a quick shot of her as I was running out the door to a little friend's birthday party. She was all wrapped up, ready to be a happy gift.

felted flower-saved

It's cold outside! I wanted to make a new hat that wasn't so tight that it flattened my hair down. A nice loose, comfortable warm hat. This knit hat pattern was supposed to have a felted crocheted flower on it. I have never felted anything before, so I thought it would be a nice experiment. Even after the shrinkage from the felting process this flower is too big for the hat. So, I pinned it on my lapel for a corsage. The consensus around here is that as a corsage it's still a bit too big. I like the flower. I didn't want to just chuck it on the pile of half done "maybe someday I'll do something with this" pile. 

So, I figured out a way to love it and make it useful. I sewed it to an elastic hairband and it finally found it's place. I think it's so spiffy that now I'm going to make a bunch more in different colors.

bumpy-lumpy neck warmer

I have always found myself attracted to textiles with round designs and patterns whether they be printed on or even better, textured. I have never gone for geometric shapes or grid type patterns. I guess it’s because I am most inspired by nature and rounded things seem more like living, growing  things. I love the look of things  with lumps, bumps and even circular things covered in spikes.

I had the idea of a scarf with random little bumps all over it. Like they were growing here and there, not in a perfect mechanical pattern. So I started to crochet. 

I got this far when I realized that this would not be a very comfortable scarf because the pattern was so stiff and tight. It would never flow and wrap around nicely. So I stopped there and added four matching little pearly buttons. For a bit of unnecessary whimsy I made a tiny ball to dangle from the end. It’s like one of the balls in the scarf actually broke out and is just hanging there. I am really glad it worked out this way, it’s a lot more interesting than my original idea.

Three Kings Day

Today, January 6 is Three Kings Day, so I made Rosca de Reyes. It is the sweet celebration bread of the Epiphany, when the Three Wise Men (or Magi) traveled a great distance to honor the Christ child. Along their way they met King Herod and told him about the birth of the new king. He ordered them to find the baby and return to him with news of where the Messiah had been born. They found the baby and offered him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. As they were leaving Bethlehem, the three kings were warned by an angel that they should return home by another route because Herod intended to kill the baby.

The bread has a bean (or small doll) hidden inside it to symbolize the hiding of the baby Jesus from King Herod. The person who finds the bean in their piece is obligated to give a party on Candlemas Day (Feb.2). Here is my bean all ready to be wrapped up in dough along with the filling made of sugar and ground almonds and orange juice.

The dough rises with a greased bowl in the center to keep the shape. The recipe can be found in the book Celebration Breads by Betsy Oppenneer. This book has been an invaluable source of information and inspiration for me.

My daughters, two of my best lady friends and I ate up more than half of this very large loaf tonight as we knitted away the hours. But nobody has yet to find the hidden bean. I was hoping I would. Then I would have an excuse to have a party! We’ll see what happens when we finish up the bread tomorrow at breakfast.

Good morning! Merry Christmas.

I was awakened this morning by my daughter standing at my bedside whispering “mom...Mom!”. I did not want to get up. Jumping to the conclusion that she was eager to go downstairs and see what gifts awaited her, I said “It’s too early. It’s still dark outside.” “But Mom, the sun is coming up RIGHT NOW!  It’s so beautiful, it’s red!” So, I dragged myself into their room to find both girls pressed against the window oohing and ahhing and squealing. The little one said, “I’ve never seen a sunrise before!" The big one replied, “It’s God’s Christmas decoration!”  I was now fully awake and eager to lavish gifts on both of them.

I wish you all a Joy filled Christmas.

Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel 

(The first and last verse)

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel, 

And ransom captive Israel, 

That mourns in lonely exile here 

Until the Son of God appear. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind 

In one the hearts of all mankind; 

Oh, bid our sad divisions cease, 

And be yourself our King of Peace. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to you, O Israel!

Translated: John Neal, 1818-66

Learning how to eat...

Six months ago my husband found out he has diabetes. His sugar was really high and we had to make immediate changes in the way he eats. I have always been known as a healthy eater, preferring a combination of whole foods, raw foods and what I call “happy” meats (animals treated fairly). But, after our six hour class on how to eat as a diabetic I have revamped my own eating as well as my husband’s. Seeing what sugar does to the body was an eye opening experience. It effects all of our systems. Sure, we need sugar, it gives  us energy. But, too much of it is disastrous to our health. In a very small nutshell, these are the main changes in our eating habits.

-Cut out sugar, especially refined. Since I am not diabetic I can have some, but it’s very limited. I never realized how much sugar was going into my cooking. A spoon of honey or agave here and there was the norm. Now it’s stevia only for savory cooking. 

-Carbs=Sugar. This was a revelation to me. instead of reading how much sugar is in a serving size, read the carbs. To your body, they are sugar.

-Beans, peas, corn...they are carbs. We no longer treat them as vegetables in this house.

-Last, but not least is portion control! This is so important. We are eating the delicious foods we love, but limiting the amount.

Six months ago my husband’s doctor wanted him to loose 30 pounds. He has done it, just by eating a little differently. I do find that I am cooking more meat than before, there must be a certain amount of protein at each meal. But again, the necessary serving size is much smaller than the typical American diet. 

Here are some practical changes that I made to a few common meals.

Falafel, a favorite since our college days. Now I skip the pita bread since the chick pea balls are carbs. There is also rice in the stuffed grape leaves, so I am mindful of the serving size. 

Chili used to be served in this house with rice or corn bread. But as I stated above, beans are carb. I replaced those sides with a low carb whole wheat tortilla with sauteed onions and eggplant. Cheese and basil on top. This meal gets a side salad too.

A meat and potatoes meal here. Sweet potatoes are better for your blood sugar levels than white potatoes. They are rich in complex carbs and fiber, so they help your body maintain stable stores of energy. This Curried Sweet Potato Salad is from Prevention's Sugar Solution Cookbook, the only diabetic cookbook I own because from what I've seen it's the best suited to my taste buds. I served this potato salad with grilled flank steak, snow peas and jicama.

This is what I do for tacos. More filling than shells. You can't really get enough filling into those little shells, so I break a couple and heap on salad and then everything else. This was so low on sugar and carbs I could even have a sweet something for dessert.

This is green pea risotto and basil shrimp. Okay, so this one's not exactly a common meal. But it was really good and I would never have found it if I wasn't obsessing over a stack of diabetic cookbooks from the library. Sorry, I don't remember what book this came from. I never have risotto rice on hand, so I use sushi rice and it's just as creamy and delicious. This one needs a vegetable and a side salad to be a complete meal.

Now that The Holiday Season is here I must tweak my Christmas baking. I will bake and I will make my traditonal family favorites. But, I am also experimenting with stevia, using fruits for sweetening and grain sweetened chocolate chips. Whole grains make a difference to your blood sugar, so I will be mixing up my flours and maybe replacing with ground nuts too. I'll still use some sugar, when it's really needed. I'll let you know when I come up with something good.