Equanimity

Snow at last! A very wet, heavy and messy snow.  I hope my pups bladders are strong and can wait for relief for a good while longer. Meanwhile, I will take out their home cooked favorite food (chicken innards with sweet potatoes) to mollify them. Living with three furry ones in one open studio is a challenge during and after snow and rain storms. My pups do know how to stay put and dry out on a towel at the ready for them on our return home. My little guy, Sumo, good at avoiding puddles will likely need a bath upon return home from our current mess. Ah, I do remember those times when fresh snow was exciting, when a wooden sled was near, and a lot of fun was to be had right across the field and up on the hill. 

These days I fail to feel the sense of equanimity my little laughing buddha so perfectly displays, but year after year his snow covered happy face delights and inspires me nonetheless. 

RAGE

I discovered this pretty painted pebble among several others

yesterday on top of a big rock in the middle of our river

along which I was walking my pups.

After admiring, then inspecting, weighing and holding each and every pebble,

I chose this particularly pleasingly round and rather surprisingly heavy one,

despite, or maybe because of the unpleasant feeling state it evokes.

Does rage go with age?

Seems like the older I get the more enraged I feel.

Trump's serial sexual abuse of women revealed only this afternoon, is only the very tip of the iceberg. "Trump's basket of deplorables" not having yet renounced their indecent, braggadocious, obnoxious, outrageous and terribly dangerous nominee, no doubt, sits right below that tip, and amidst all those that cried out for Pence to have won the VP debate, what a joke. No, what a shock that so much of mainstream media along with so many Americans will choose style over substance, in regard to politics, not hairstyles!

I am outraged!

So for now, I am holding my rage, weighing it, exploring it, looking at it and most importantly not prematurely dismissing, much less avoiding this rather challenging emotion. I have been tempted for this whole past year to rage against this narcissist emboldened to run for our highest office. I held back because "when they go low, we go high." I held back because the mere mention of the name seems to fuel this insanity. I held back in disbelief of what was unfolding. Giving rage it's rightful place is a challenge, I believe not just for me. Eventually, I hope to place this emotion too at the feet of the Buddha, at the feet of pure awareness, where this too shall pass, with a laugh.

Today's Walk With Sumo

Blessed with more snow and a sun that is breaking through, Buddha's cover will not last, it's time for our walk.

Sumo illegally off lead in our Railyard park.

Such a cutie our little Sumo-boy with his snow face as he blends in so nicely.

Sumo loves to sample snow.

Hm, where are those ground squirrels hiding now?

Humongous Green Coyote by Doug Kennel manages to look cute even while covered in snow.

Eric, now a grandfather, so hard at work at clearing access to his Railyard Performance Art Space, he did not even crack a smile for us.

Winter Market vendor not shy at all about having his picture taken.

Our colorful 'hood, love it.

Buddha uncovered by mid-afternoon and laughing, yeah!

Sitting In The Light

First Snow On Laughing Buddha With Roses

Snow - Middle Of May!

A sudden snow storm surprised us in downtown Santa Fe on May 16th.

Spring Has Sprung

Happy New Year!

 Hold on to your equanimity

- and your humor

with best of wishes to all,

and no exceptions.

In Dire Need of Equanimity

My world got blanketed in pure white first snow and looked just like this. 

Alas, I need all the equanimity I can muster to walk my pups on lead across icy grounds.

Grant Me The Serenity

 Grant me the serenity

 to live juicy

to take my time to smell the roses

to notice the writing on the walls

the poems in the skies

to feel my feelings

be they blue or pink.

The Cultivation Of A Sense Of Abundance

6 a.m. I am having breakfast inside my cozy warm home, while temperatures dipped down low to two degrees outside. I had one pancake, topped with cranberry sauce of my own making (sweetened with tangerine juice and just a dash of cayenne pepper for heat) garnished with juicy, plump fresh blackberries, and accompanied by one cup of strong, sweet, espresso made to taste richer with a dash of nutmeg, ginger and a sip of vanilla. Food that nourished not only the body, but also the soul.

Meanwhile our occupiers spent the night out in tents, in frigid temperatures.

I am worried, but plan to make a pot of rice and lentils in curry for them. 

Update: The occupiers assured me they were o.k., cold, but not too bad. Worst seems to be crawling out of their warm sleeping bags and in to the cold. I did bring them a steaming hot pot of brown rice, mixed in with curried vegetables, but no lentils, did not realize I was out. Walked over there with pups on lead in one hand and metal basket with steaming pot in other hand. Promptly lost my felt hat and had to retrace my steps all the way back to camp again where my Sumo-boy spotted my beloved hat sitting, despite the gusty winds, right there on the trail, hooray! 

The Gods Are Smiling

 Coffee & Cream

 Home Made Apple/Cranberry Pie

Freshly Picked Lilacs

The Gods Are Smiling

Breakfast Today

Out by eight, I walked my pups, then shopped, then treated myself to breakfast out in the yard on a beautiful, bright Spring morning. Black, spicy, hot coffee with warm croissant, the weekly paper just out. My Orchid, in bloom since last July, enjoyed a bit of extra light out in the yard and swayed  happily in the wind until the sun would reach the table. The Catnip plant almost got demolished by the Pretty Kitty, who had stayed out all night, again, I came to the rescue just in time. The Strawberry plant, usually near it, was gifted to me by one of the Farmers Market vendors, so sweet.

Equanimity

It's all good, keep on smiling, today I can almost believe it.

Loot

The pears are ripe for the picking. I boiled them down with a few cloves, a bit of sugar and added arrowroot for thickening at the end. A whole pile made for 1 quart jar and a whole lot of work, but so worth it. Tastes not bad on plain frozen yogurt.

These Crabapples are finally ripe without a doubt. I picked them this morning and they came off easy. They are huge and taste especially good boiled down with 2 apples, the juice of 2 lemons, some raisins, and a bit of brown sugar. Delicious,  I can attest, still warm on top of frozen plain yogurt or piled on hot pancakes.

I hope to find some more at the nearby public park as I want to experiment with some sort of relish. Crabapples are great added to my kind of Salsa Verde, and also  ads taste to my vegetable soup, so I discovered.

Really I am not in the habit of picking up fruit from public spaces, even though it is legal. I never had a garden of my own and live an urban life style downtown.

Maybe sometime last year the absurdity occurred to me of buying fruit when the streets and parks were littered with the rotten kind. I really hate waste but love getting a great deal.

According to my sources the city has not sprayed pesticides in years, only occasionally some soap. And according to one city worker these apples, from the very same tree, are not dumped and discarded as expected, but are fed to his sow! Knowing that there is one thinking, self directed city worker makes me very happy.

Well, I gathered my share of the tree's free fall. While the apples taste not the best, cooked with a few added crabapples, the juice of 2 lemons, a bit of applecider for good measure, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and some vanilla, they make for a great topping on pancakes or wholesome flavor to plain yogurt.

Truth be told, I am not terribly domestic. But creating these jars of goodies feels very satisfying and kinda exciting. It's a lot of work that reminds of times past and makes me kinda feel rich.


My fridge now holds applesauce in bits and pieces with added vanilla,  applesauce blended with a dash of ginger, crabapple sauce, pear bits, salsa verde and in the mood I also made a huge pot of vegetable soup. The sprouting jar below holds wheat kernels for wheat grass which my furry friends adore and the big jar holds water infused with fresh peppermint tea - sun tea. How much greener can we get! Hooray for living a more and more sustainable, holistic life style!

It's all about framing