Walking Meditation Sticks

On Monday I took my granddaughters to the Martin Luther King Jr march here in Lewisburg, WV. I usually attend the march, lunch and speeches every year to honor his memory and to see his dream becoming a reality. When my now teenagers where younger and I was home schooling them they came with me. I continue the lessons with my granddaughters who are 5 and 7. 

The march was chilly. Chloe, Trinity and I where bundled in several layers of warm clothing and coats yet our noses and toes still where cold. 

I was wearing a pair of very warm mittens knitted by my Aunt Ginger. She sends our family a box or two a year of lovely hand knitted items such as mittens in different sizes, scarfs and hats. She is amazing!

All of the marchers warmed up quickly in the church where we sat down together at long school room style tables to share a tasty lunch of sandwich wraps, tummy warming vegetable soup and chocolate cup cakes. 

We were not able to stay for all the post activities in the church sanctuary. The girls drumming group was energetic and kept my granddaughters attention but soon they began to fidget during the speeches and it was time to go.

Living with grand children is interesting to say the least. I recently found my Lilith alter in my room dismantled, placed in side a plastic jack-o-lantern and rearranged up under my desk. I took this as an opportunity to do some serious alter cleaning. I unlisted the assistance of my smallest but bravest granddaughter Trinity to help. This provided an opportunity to teacher her about Goddess Lilith. From experience I'm sure she is also the culprit who dismantled my alter. The picture represents only a very very small part of the whole ...

I am on call at work today and surprisingly I have not been called in to the hospital where I am a cardiac nurse. So this morning I had unexpected time to myself. I work hard at maintaining a daily spiritual practice. This morning I was able to give myself the gift of extra time. 

Now I will shamelessly insert plugs and kudos for my previous teacher Thorn Coyle and one of my favorite books Feeding your Demons by Tsultrim Allione.
I live in gratitude to Thorn teaching excellence and assistance helping me understand and finally appreciate daily practice. I think it is up to the individual to craft their own practice. My practice embraces my Feri spirituality which includes meditation, devotion, honoring Gods/ancestors and connection to self divinity with different exercises that I enjoy. I will not be sharing my personal exercises or Feri. There is plenty of information out on the world wide web to explore and lots of helpful hints enabling others to create their own daily practice.
I like to meditate with other people but that is not possible for me or my schedule. I was introduced to insight timer  by a friend and I love being able to connect and meditate with people from all over the world.

Feeding your demons, shadow work, mirror work or what ever name you feel comfortable with has been healing and self empowering for me. I love Tsultrim book and I reread it frequently. My book is filled with pencil notations and sticky notes. I love her approach because it taught me how to shift to tolerance, integration and compassion. Demon or shadows hinder liberation and Tsultrim explains how to change our story to what is happening, instead of what should be happening while embracing demons. 

Believe it or not knitting has been very helpful tool assisting me on my journey to be able to focus, relax within myself and to meditate.  

I consider myself a beginning knitter. Even though I learned to knit way back in high school, I have very few completed projects under my belt. Knitting is fun and frustrating at the same time. I have continued to try and try again because I like a challenge and (wink) I like to play with pointy sticks. I recently took a online class at Craftsy which was fun and a confidence building experience. I also learned I am an English knitter. This may explain some of my past knitting misunderstandings. I learned how knit from my grandmother who was from Nova Scotia . Do knitters from that area of Canada typically knit English style? I do not know. I have never visited but my parents have returned several times to visit our family living there. Some day I too would like to meet my distant relatives.

I have just finished knitting a top knot baby hat for a fellow nurse at work. She is now out on maternity leave with her daughter Anne Marie. I used size 6 us size double pointed needles for most of the hat. I usually don't use metal needles but this is what I had and I didn't want to buy another pair. I prefer bamboo or some type of wood. Metal is slippery and I have had to really concentrate when changing from one needle to another.

Knitting language can be confusing. The directions state, knit around to get the stockinette stitch. Well I did what I thought was knitting in the beginning but the stockinette stitch was forming on the inside of the hat. That is not what I wanted or what the directions stated. I was knitting on the outside of the stitch and when I changed to knitting on the inside or pearling everything turned out lovely. Another lesson learned!

The Art of Sorta Doing Nothing

I'm working on the 'art of doing nothing' since I graduated from an RN BSN program. I heard about this concept while reading the book  Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It sounded so good when when she talked about the Italian concept but I guess I'm as American as apple pie making me more of a 'doer'. My hands, mind and eyes are always busy and usually doing at least three task at once. Sometimes the task are joyful and other times it is stuff I have to just get done. I guess I'm a work in progress. My attempt to get into the spirit of the art of nothing was on Sunday. But first...there was Saturday.

Saturday my Roller Derby team the Greenbrier Roller Vixens had a Boot Camp event. Women (sorry guys, this is woman flat track) interested in the contact roller skating sport could try it out from 10a to 3p and get a taste of derby. There where about 13 women raring to get on skates and check out derby. I had a great time. The day was busy. So busy I did not get any pictures. There was an introduction and of course paper work, gear, safety, warm up off skates, introduction to import skills such as stopping and falls, practice skating fun, skating games and a Vixen demo bout. All that expended energy deserved great food. And there was! I made barbeque turkey, and others provided a variety of foods such as  tasty rolls and buns, sweet potato vegetable soup with blue cheese crumbles, baked macaroni n cheese, black bean corn dip with corn chips, green salad, peanut butter cookies and delectable blue berry bacon cupcakes. All of the dishes where so yum! I had seconds!!

This picture was taken in September before a parade we skated. I'm the tall blonde in the blue stripped tights. Another wonderful derby day.

I have to rave and toot my own horn about my barbeque turkey dish. It was tummy rubbing good and it takes two days to prepare.  I used the directions to bake a twenty pound turkey from the 1975 edition Joy of Cooking cook book. It is my most used and favorite cook book. I received the book as a gift when my first (unfortunately yes, there are others) husband and I married in 1983. The book cooks much better then my first husband and I ever did. Insert sad face but only for a second.

I washed and then baked the turkey as directed in the oven with the usual spices sprinkled on the skin such as sage, salt and pepper. I cooled the turkey and in the evening I pulled off all the tender dark and white meat, putting it in a big crock pot. The pulled meat just about filled the pot. I added a half cup of white vinegar and then a favorite barbeque sauce. Bottled works. Usually I make my own but I was squished for time and used three purchased bottles. I added six cloves of crushed garlic. I still have 10 dried bulbs of organic garlic from my garden. I mixed it all up as best as I could since the pot was pretty full. It simmered on low in the crock pot all night. At the derby boot camp I mixed it several times and kept it simmering until it was time to dive in and munch down. It was tender, tangy and so delicious.

Back to Sunday and my attempt to prefect the art of doing nothing. When I think of 'nothing' what comes to my mind is enjoying or having such pleasure in the moment of being me within these five physical points that is myself a star. Nothing is not sitting as a bump (unless that is your pleasure) but being in joy and enjoying the pleasure of the moment to me. I did not do one thing that my head was telling me I 'should' DO. I did what gave me joy and I love to knit. My grandmother Clark taught me the joy of different fiber arts such as quilting and knitting. My grandmother lives every time I pick up her needles that where passed to me.
I joyfully picked out an online class at Craftsy with Stefanie Japel. I did nothing but enjoy my self as I knitted along and made a lace key hole scarf for me. My granddaughters visited me in my room throughout the day asking lots of questions and decorating my bed with barbies. I'm half finished with the scarf now and will post a completed picture on the Craftsy site later. I will do nothing again real soon, finish the other half and then block it so the scarf will lay flat and lovely around my neck.

Welcome Year of the Black Snake

Beginnings start with endings sometimes....

I am still in a state of mild shock. I do not have to study. I still feel so strange. I finally finished a long term goal on December 15 when I passed my final test. The registered nursing board test is darn funky doodle. I had been having nightmares about the test for weeks. Nightmares about  math problems with lots of kg, units and fluid rates bouncing up in down in cartoon shapes on my bed, obscure disease processes flowing over my body or weirdly having to identify strange rashes via text messaging from my phone. I am so glad I have completed my goal but at the same time I feel a little lost. My days since graduation in June have centered around book study, disease processes or lab test review and practice testing.
I have been thinking what is next? What do I do now? Thoughts have been rolling in and out like an ocean tide. I could, I could, I could...I could go back to school! I have been thinking about more school since the day I graduated.

Yup that is me in the funny white coat, covering up the dress I purchased just for my special day with my wonderful family.
Today I started an application to start my next journey in education. Family Nurse Practitioner. Intention...to be obtained from Wheeling Jesuit University. 

Today is January 2 and I am enjoying the fruits of my December 31 think cooking fun. I think, cook and fantasize while I and my kitchen create magical yummy food. I love lucky peas. Which is funny. If I love them, then why don't I cook them more often? I don't know, but I sure cooked up a mess to share with friends as the old year fell to compost and the new year sprouted...beautiful possibility.

Lucky Peas with Dumplings
1/2 pound bacon
1 whole onion chopped
4-5 cloves garlic
2 pats of butter
2 T flour (gluten free use rice flour) 
home made poultry stock
1 cup water
salt and pepper
5 cans of black-eyed peas
collards

1. Cook the bacon in a large pot. Remove the bacon, chop and place the drippings in a separate bowl. Set both aside for later. Add onion saute, and garlic saute some more in the pot with at least 2 T left over drippings and butter. When the chopped onion is translucent add the flour. Stir and cook 1 minute. Add peas and cover with stock. Add water. Bring to a boil. Simmer for at least 35 minutes or until peas are tender and thick and saucy.
2. Chop collards. In a fry pan add 1/2 teaspoon or less of saved bacon drippings and when it is popping hot add collards. Turn a few times to make sure all the greens are cooked and are a bright green. Put aside in a separate bowl.  Add the collards to the peas just before serving.  Mixing well.

Dumplings
1/2 cup flour (gluten free use rice flour)
1/2 cup white corn meal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 or 3 scallions minced 
2 T cold butter
1 T reserved drippings
1/2 cup sour cream

1.  Combine flour, corn meal, baking soda and scallion in a bowl. Cut butter into the flour until it has a coarse texture, and add drippings, sour cream and chopped bacon. Stir the moist dough just enough to mix ingredients together.
2. Heat a fry pan with any left over drippings. Add teaspoon fulls of the dumpling dough spaced well apart. Place a cover over the pan and cook about 4 minutes, turn the dumpling and cook covered about 4 more minutes.

I found this recipe in Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2013 page 156. I of course changed it to suit my taste buds. Enjoy and change the recipe to fit your taste buds too. ")  Cook up some Magic!