Today just made up for the last two weeks of hell!

Item: Change. Da Boss has taken an SES job. He is leaving us. I've been with him for 11+ years.

Item: The new drug (humira) is WORKING! I have more mobility in fingers & wrists by late afternoon. Still have morning stiffness. Have acute pain, but not "baseline" pain. Not dancing a jig just yet, but being cautiously optomistic. Still practicing good judgement and continuing all the lifestyle changes.

Item: I've accomplished another of my (career) goals for 2009. I'll review to see what is possible for the remaining time this year.

Item: My presentation on Monday night at Vincennes University had about 140 people.

Item: I stopped at a local coffee store in a small town in Illinois and got a great tip for a scenic drive. Fabulous!

Item: I managed to get a project done last weekend. (under the nice cut tag - cuz nothing says lovin' like an lj-cut!)

Item: Also baked biscuits last night.

( weekend projects - garage and baking )
Yum!

With butter and honey. Strawberry jam.

Going to look at 40 acres about 75 minutes from town. $3600/acre. No improvements. No buildings.

Satellite from Goog

A poem from my childhood

When all the cows were sleeping
And the sun had gone to bed,
Up jumped the pumpkin,
And this is what he said:

I'm a dingle dangle pumpkin
With a flippy floppy hat.
I can shake my stem like this,
And shake my vine like that.

Okay. Just...creepy.
******

This pumpkin made three dishes: salty roasted seeds, pumpkin tort, and challah bread.

( Yummy pumpkin challah bread )
beautiful egg-washed loaf of pumpkin challah bread - subtly pumpkin with ginger & cloves

Found this through powerswitch

Global Footprint Network (GFN)

GFN supports the creation of a sustainable economy by advancing the scientific rigour and practical application of the Ecological Footprint as a measurement and policy tool, with the goal of making ecological limits central to decision-making everywhere.

GFN's flagship awareness raising day is Earth Overshoot Day, the point at which humanity collectively has used up the resources the Earth can created in a year, and from that point on until 31 December is living on ecological credit:

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/earthovershootday

On September 25, humanity will reach an unfortunate milestone. We will have demanded all the ecological services – from filtering CO2 to producing the raw materials for food – that nature can provide this year, according to data from Global Footprint Network, a research organization that measures how much nature we have, how much we use, and who uses what.

From 25 September until the end of the year, we will meet our ecological demand by depleting resource stocks and accumulating greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.Since the mid 1980s, humanity has been demanding ecological services faster than the planet can regenerate them, a condition known as ecological overshoot. We now use in less than 10 months the amount of resources it takes 12 months for nature to generate, according to Global Footprint Network data.



I make choices everyday that impact the earth. I do my best. Small changes lead to big changes. Believe it. Live it.

There's oregano tea, lemon balm tea, and basil tea in my future as I harvest the flowers and cut back the leggy growth of the herbs.

The bumblebees love the purple flowers.

Do not confuse perfection with excellence.

Do not confuse excellence with perfection.

Excellence is achievable. Perfection is not required.

I spied a striking beauty amoung the oranges, yellows and reds:



she wasn't there last year.



Oh Joy. Oh Rapture unforseen!

Solstice!!

First thing in the morning, I'll head up to the Monastery and the good Sisters of Benedict. We are working at a Habitat for Humanity house - putting in a small vegetable garden. I turn the phone off and may not blog until Sunday night. I'll take the camera for some pictures.

Have a great Solstice!

It's been a good one!
( details below )

Crookedly: that's a good word.

I've been enjoying a good read about TEA. Some interesting and not so interesting bits of information about TEA:

Green tea can be steeped several times. Each successive pot has a different concentration and combination of polyphenols/antioxidants (& amino acids) that change the flavor character of the tea.

Green tea, after sitting for a while after brewed will lose its delicate green color and turn golden brown; the result of oxidation. The diversity of flavor is remarkable.

Tea, especially green tea, can be used as a flavor enhancer in foods.

Tea has been the subject of much political strife.

Tea is being cultured in South Carolina.

Tea was first cultivated becuase of its stimulatant effect and astringent qualities.

Tea drinking and sharing is very ritualized and has its own spiritual following in several areas of the world.

***
Tea is my new passion.

Also
14. Develop a new social circle of friends that is not predicated on work or alcohol.

I started to repair the gate. It took me an hour and a skinned knuckle to admit defeat and call my new friend, L, to help repair the garden gate. She came over with a friend and promptly evaluated the situation, determined what was needed, obtained needed items, and fixed the gate. It took about two hours. We sat around and chatted for another hour. They liked my house and garden. L and her friends are a new group of people I am hanging out with through the efforts of L. We went to the German restaurant on Friday night. They called me the interpreter since I speak/read a little German and was familiar with the different German foods. A nice night, only a few people were drinking out of the 14 there. They have a regular first friday get together.

On Saturday morning, I went with my PT to the Farmer's Market. We acted as role models for each other when it came to cookies and fudge. I introduced her to the healthier alternatives like home grown veggies and grass-fed, local meats.

M&M and I are planning to go boating on the lake after work on Tuesday or Wednesday.

A good weekend.
A good week ahead.

I love the local farmer's market - only local produce, mostly organic!

Today's treasures:

romaine lettuce
red lettuce
kale
fresh mozzarella
string cheese
wild strawberries
organic whole grain boule

local pork chops - grass fed

The Pottsdown Meat Shoppe in the Metro Center whre I get my amish chicken is having a festival of local products - cheese, noodles, sweets, etc. They roasted a whole hog and were pulling it off as we were leaving. Tasty!!!

Edit: 12:23 pm: Courtesy of freecycle I got transplants of marjoram, two indeterminate tomatoes, and some raspberry canes!!!!

I can meet my goal of the 100 mile diet from June to November. I am getting better at four season harvest so I might be able to still get herbs, greens, a root veggies from the garden this year.

The wellness people were there, and I had my blood pressure checked - 115/75...It had been running 130/90 so I'm feeling good about the first week of "training."

through my thoughts
through my emotions
through my actions
experience my divinity
experience my humanity

Mindfully. Peacefully.

( the progress report )

I'm satisfied.

Finished the lawn care. Edged, trimmed, mulched. Patio set up. Marigolds planted near the toad house. Lemon tree repotted.

Still to be accomplished: strawberry fountain, patio palm transplant, new beds to be tilled, plum tree stump to be removed, water catchment installation, irrigation for beds, hanging baskets, bean poles.

Time enough to watch the birds. I saw a flicker this morning - red head, spotted back, white tail, black bib - on the ground scooping up ants.

The peonies are ready to burst. Tulips past their prime. Yellow is the color for the annuals this year; really pops out under the shade.

New this year: pak choy. The oregano is up. Lemon balm everywhere; delicious tea. Finally, tomato & cabbage plants, ready to be transplanted to the garden bed:

The Last English King (CE 1066) by Julian Rathbone
Genghis Khan: Bones of the Hill (CE 1200) by Conn Iggulden

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon (e_moon60 or Pak's World)

The Next Enlightenment by Walter T. Anderson
The Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden

Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston (Space Clearing)

Throw Out Fifty Things by Gail Blanke
I'm reading this as I prepare for the neighborhood garage sale in two weeks. I want to continue to declutter my life. I plan to have signs that read: $1 & $5 and pile all my stuff under these signs. You can see some stuff from Gail at her website. Bandwidth warning: There's a video that autoplays.

It snowed last night. I awoke to a winter wonderland.

I am participating in Earth Hour tonight, March 28 2009, at 8:30 pm local time.

The good Benedictine Sisters have invited me back to take a couple weeks of vacation with them. Perhaps in May.