gypsies at heart

When our children are young, we try to imagine their future. We can see their achievements, their sorrows, their hurdles, their laughter and tears. We know that their road will not be smooth and sometimes unsafe. We hope that we will give them the necessary guidance to cope and to succeed. And we know that maybe, maybe, they will travel to far off lands to make their fortune.

Our hearts shed a tear that we never let them see.

My son moved to Brooklyn last September. When he was around 3 or 4 he crawled up into my lap and stated," Mommy, I am going to live with you forever!" I laughed and assured him, that he was welcome to live with me forever, but we should ask his wife first.  At 23, when he told me he was moving across the country to New York, I said "GO. Chase your Dream". And he left to live with the woman he dearly loves. He struggles, he laughs, he loves, and he lives fully in the home of his own making. He is a man. He is a lover, He is a dreamer and doer. And I miss him. And I am so proud of him.



When I was 21 I came home from college and informed my parents that I was spending a semester abroad,. England. My mother asked me where would I be living. I said that I didn't know but that was no concern for the college would find me a place to live. That experince changed my life; my view of the world and myself.
 Later when I was at the front of discovering a new me, when my marriage was no longer the center of my life, when that ended and decisions began., I moved to California. My mother must have worried, but she never told me. She said "Go. Chase your dreams".

My mother was 18 when she left her family home and moved to a new state. The war began and she enlisted, to see the world. She traveled to different parts of the country, ending up in Colorado. She married there than lived in a state different from her family. For centuries, literally since the late 1770's her family had lived in the same town,/city on Long Island. She left to follow her dreams.

Maybe there really is gypsy blood in my veins. Maybe there is a strong need to experience life through different places, different people, and the courage to make that journey. Wherever it may lead. I am thankful that my mother passed this to me, and hopeful that my passing it on to my son will bring him the thrill for life, the courage to try and the rewards of adventure.


If not, well, New York City is a great place to visit.

mother earth

Friday was Earth Day. Those of us who are crones remember the first Earth Day. It seemed like a rebellious and remarkable idea. The publication of Rachel Carson's New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962. enlightened a generation to the abuse of our mother.Our children have grown up with the concept of celebrating the earth, and without realizing it,  Mother Earth. I applaud and encourage the setting aside of one special day to remind us all that the Earth is our only home and sacred. However, like all "holidays" there are those among us, who once they have fulfilled the expected one hour or so of clean-up at some park, beach or mountain, believe they have accomplished their task. Off they go for the rest of the year; often forgetting the lesson of that one day.
Mother  Earth. Sacred and adored. Honored and worshiped. The ancients knew the importance of recognizing the power of the Goddess, both to create and to destroy.  They gave her names and worshipped in different ways. But all cultures, all lands, all times gave homage.We, of the 21st century, are beginning to understand this power.

 Gaea ( /ˈɡeɪ.ə/ or /ˈɡaɪ.ə/; from Ancient Greek Γαῖα "land" or "earth;" also Gæa, Gaia, or Gea;^[1] Koine Greek: Γῆ) was the primal Greek goddess personifying the Earth, the Greek version of "Mother Nature," or the Earth Mother.Oaths sworn in the name of Gaia, in ancient Greece, were considered the most binding of all.Hesiod's Theogony (116ff) tells how, after Chaos, arose broad-breasted Gaia, the everlasting foundation of the gods of Olympus. She brought forth Uranus, the starry sky, her equal, to cover her, the hills (Ourea), and the fruitless deep of the Sea, Pontus, "without sweet union of love," out of her own self through parthenogenesis.
 Terra Mater or Tellus was a goddess personifying the Earth in Roman mythology. The names Terra Mater and Tellus Mater both mean "Mother Earth" in Latin;
Romans appealed to Terra over earthquakes, and along with the grain goddess Ceres, she was responsible for the productivity of farmland. She was also associated with marriage, motherhood, pregnant women, and pregnant animals. Terra's Greek counterpart is Gaia
 

Carl Gustav Jung suggested that the archetypal mother was a part of the collective unconscious of all humans, and various Jungian students, e.g. Erich Neumann and Ernst Whitmont have argued that such mother imagery underpins many mythologies, and precedes the image of the paternal "father", in such religious systems. Such speculations help explain the universality of such mother goddess imagery around the world.

From the earliest of times to  the present time, we may not give voice in worship to Gaia, but we speak often of the Power of Mother Nature. There is a saying amongst us mothers: I brought you into the world, I can take you out and I can replace you. HMMMM  maybe we should listen and respect her.

Enjoy the Earth, Love Her beauty and Give to Her your kindest actions.

French bread

When all else fails; bake.

My family can tell when I am having a bad day or bad week. I retreat to the kitchen, get out the flour, grab one of my favorite recipes and bake. Could be cookies: Grandma's oatmeal cookies (nothing like what you buy in the stores for it is an old recipe, which used lard, handed down through my father's family ) or cupcakes (Black Midnight Chocolate with Whipped butter-cream frosting that my mother used to bake) or brownies ( not that kind). Or bread. When I feel particularly down I get out my Julie Childs book and bake French Bread.

Today is French Bread day! 

Maybe it is the feel of the flour or the smell of bread rising, but when I bake bread I feel more alive. The alchemist in me reveals in taking base elements (flour, water, yeast salt) and through magick ( okay and the oven) creates the most fundamental food for the heart:. Bread! If you have not baked french bread you must!

The most simple bread: water, flour, small amount of sugar, salt and yeast. Hand rolled into banquettes and then baked until lightly brown. The best part of french bread, the part where I would call my children and ask "Do you want to hear bread sing?" is at the end. When you remove the loaves from the oven, gently set them to cool, a marvelous moment happens.  They crackle and sing to you.

It is impossible not to smile, if indeed, laugh with the wonder of it all.

Ah! then enjoying the bread you have made with the hearty vegetarian stew simmering on the stove.But another day about the stew.

The bell on the oven is chiming telling me it is time to take the baguettes out. Off to hear the loaves sing!











 

Spring time

Living in Southern California makes it difficult to recognize the beginning of a new season. But it is here and taking time to feel spring is just as important as to "see" spring.


Stop for a moment. We all have very hectic schedules, mine may be even more so than yours, but no excuses. Just stop. Close your eyes.

Inhale deeply. Maybe you smell new turned soil. It is the time to ready our gardens for the flowers, for the herbs, for the vegetables that we will enjoy throughout the summer and the fall. For us here in SoCal we may even enjoy throughout the year. Plant something new.This year I am planting Bee Balm, Anise hyssop, Feverfew, Lemon Balm, sweet gardenia and mint. These I will steep into teas. Oregano,basil, thyme, and cilantro are growing in pots in my garden window in the kitchen. These will flavor the dishes I make throughout the year.

Listen carefully. I am fortunate enough to have two aviaries in my yard so my life is always filled with the sounds of birds. If you are not so fortunate then listen for the songs of the birds in your town. Listen closely. Can you hear the message of new birth in their voices? You may even be able to hear the building of their nests as they prepare for the hatching of their young. Listen more intently. The buzzing of the bees busy about their work and the soft swish of butterfly wings, the sound of the hummingbirds (yes, as my daughter has taught me, as they swoop down) can be heard on the wind.

Feel the warmth and the rain on your skin. Each of us, like Mother Earth, requires sun and water to survive. Step out of your doorway. Get out of your car and walk. Allow your skin to be warmed ( respectful of the danger of too much sun). Feel the quenching of your body, of your skin, with nature's own shower. Splash through the puddles!

But most of all. Stop and breathe. Enjoy!!!!!