Nights were short day by day.
The leaves lay silent in their changing color
Only to burst with wild, vivid visions as the month went on.
The air was crisp, flitting between the trees, swirling about to announce Fall had arrived.
While other things marked fall like bright mums standing at attention on a front porch. With pumpkins side by side in different sizes, shapes and colors.
Scarves of wool are broken out with gloves and autumn coats to match. To face the crisp, cold air. Distinguished items designed to mention Fall’s arrival in all its glory.
It is the celebration of the month of October.
The month embraces Fall with all its might.
Storing September
Happy September
Xox
Lc
Storing September by Elizabeth Rooney
You asked me what I did today
I could pretend and say I don’t remember
But, no, I’ll tell you what I did today-
I stored September
Sat in the sun and let the sun sink in
Let all of the warmth caress my skin
When winter comes, my skin will remember
The day I stored September
And then, my eyes
I filled them with the deepest, bluest skies
And all the traceries of wasps and butterflies
When winter comes, my eyes will still remember
The day I stored September
And there was a cricket song to fill my ears
And the taste of grapes
And the deep purple of them
And asters like small clumps of sky
You know how much I love them
That’s what I did today
And I know why
Just simply for the love of it
I stored September.
Dwelling in Cooking
I am not a cook. But I like to invent. So, I created some side dishes and prepped them with the microwave, mostly. They are for quick moments when you need something fast but yummy. Or low-calorie and quick.
Mushroom and onions
Fill a one-cup bowl with white cap, sliced mushroom, and diced sweet onions. Microwave for 2:30 – 3:00 minutes. Rub a cube of butter over the steaming micosauted mixture for the dripping amount of choice. Mix. Enjoy. Or add spices, such as seasoning salts or Italian Seasoning, or even try dried mint.
Salsa Corn
Fill a family-size bowl with one package of frozen sweet white corn. Microwave it for 2:30 – 3:00 minutes. Take a container of fresh Pic de Gallo and mix it in with the corn. Take some sour cream and put a couple of tablespoons on top for dressing. Top off with Mexican Seasoning.
Salsa Rice
Take a family-size bowl – use a rice cooker. Cook two cups of rice. Mix the rice with a package of fresh salsa/Pic de Gallo. Crumble tortilla chips on top for garnish.
Petite Tri-Color Potatoes
Take a family-size bowl – cut up into eights 12-petite tri-color potatoes. Microwave them for 5:00 – 7:00 minutes. (Watch them to ensure cooking and not overcooking) Sprinkle liberally with olive oil. Use Italian Seasoning or other Mediterranean Seasoning on hand.
I have a few more that are simple and fun. My Nachos are easy and quick. A bag of tortillas and a package of seven-layer dip liberally placed upon a mound of chips. Shredded sharp cheese placed on top of that and put in the microwave for 1:30-2:00 minutes.
I hope you find these interesting if not funny and what a hack way of doing things quickly. But they do turn out OK.
Have a wonderful friendly day. Dwell in the many ways of cooking. There are all sorts of ways.
Share your ideas. I love learning new things and dwelling in possibilities.
Last Year Gemstones
Well, it’s the end of another year. Should you look back and assess it? Should you move forward and forget it? Was it that awful? Were there no gemstones splattered throughout the fabric of the tapestry of your year? I think, yes.
So, why not look back? Let’s look at last year.
What gemstone’s brilliance blinded you with joy? Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond.
These are mine.
One gem, the Emerald, was a slender Ginkgo tree planted upon a terrace overlooking a valley. A coveted tree for many years. Finally, coming to root.
The Ruby was a large Zen garden carved out on the side of a small hill. The fluid lines offering peace and rest. Home to deer, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, wild turkeys, and various birds.
Sapphire brought communication in a variety of forms and systems. Wireless. Verbal. Auditory. Visual. Kinetic. All interrelated. Intertwined. Yet, at the same time, separate threads in the tapestry.
The spectacular Diamond brought purpose in the form of a ball of brown, black, and white fur wrapped in one big package that does not judge, does not criticize, does not hate, does not lie or cheat and is not capable of terrible things. Not a bad bone in their body and soul.
Only unconditional love, unwavering loyalty, adoring eyes, gratitude for every interaction and listening faithfully through endless talks, this fur ball is a Diamond in the rough. But it turns out to be the biggest gem in the fabric. It brings purpose.
Looking back at the year, there were tough spots. Would like to forget 2022 in many ways, but a few precious gems brightened up the fabric of life. And that is all I needed.
What were your precious gems in 2022? Rubies, Emeralds, Sapphires and Diamonds?
To a spectacular 2023 with many multicolor threads in your tapestry of life scattered with precious gemstones.
Happy Holidays
It is the Holidays. I hope you all are enjoying the festivities that come along with the season.
In this time of unsettling news reports, the troubling ways we live our lives every day, and the tense choices we are being asked to make. And the list goes on. Making for awkward situations, people are sick, uncomfortable, scared, tired, and overall, we are not having an easy time being Joyful.
Life can be absurdly hard without added strife. But…guess what? Joy will put “absurdly hard” into a corner, like a young child who talks too much during class that is sent to the corner and tucked away. (Did you ever experience that treatment? I did. I just spoke to the corner, but I was overlooked)
I have strived to have Joy as my companion to pull me through many dire situations since I was twelve. You all can bring Joy every minute to this world, even though it sometimes seems elusive. The uncomfortable times can be comforted. The dire times can be calmed. The world thanks you for that gift of Joy you will deliver. I stole a saying from the book; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. That sums up what Joy sparks:
The quote roughly says—Crying may endure the night, but Joy always comes in the morning.
So, even though things seem dire, think of a happy thought. Think of a happy place. Pick a special memory. And you will bud with Joy, then spread it around and be a gift to others; that is a holiday wish that lasts throughout the year for everyone.
Merry Merry. Happy Happy. Holidays.
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