Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Nothing about your home today. Instead, I’d like to share a poem that I heard recently, Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye, and my thoughts on Michael Jackson.
I think that it’s fitting to share this poem about kindness, since today is the day of the Memorial Service for Michael Jackson. He seemed to be a man with such a huge heart and so kind… but so misunderstood. Michael obviously struggled with feeling robbed of his childhood years. As a child he didn’t have a chance to spend time playing and hangin’ with the other kids. It may have been possible that with Michaels gift of creativity he would have been ridiculed for having too many dreams and too much imagination - not following society’s sterotype for a male youth. Did he feel so void of those younger years that he needed to try to recreate the youth he thought he missed? I don’t think so.
Michael was an unbelievably, naturally talented person, with an incredible imagination and so much abounding creativity. I think it looked like he wanted to recreate his missed childhood years by surrounding himself with youth and by living at Neverland. But, I don’t think that was his motive. I believe that he found such happiness through his creativity, and further through entertaining that it came out in child-like thoughts and behavior. Who else allows their thoughts and dreams soar without boundaries but the young? I think that he was such a creative genius that he was only truly being himself. It allowed his mind to soar, to be without restriction. I will always remember him for his talent, his love and kindness, and his never-ending imagination. Thank you for sharing your life with us, Michael. ”:O)
KindnessBefore you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever. Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and
purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.
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Saturday, June 13th, 2009
Everyone loves to talk about their pets. Mine are no exception. They make me laugh, they love me, and they’re so darn cute! Of course, there are times when being a dog-mom to three gets overwhelming. I had to share some photos of my two youngest dogs, Chance and Zoe, from one evening this week. After the lawn was mowed, they had a grand game of chase. They’ve developed a race track in my backyard. It goes behind the raspberry plants, the hydrangea, around the magnolia tree (complete with a banked turn) and then a straight shot down the lawn and back to the raspberries. After a few rounds of chase, I had to capture these two leprechauns on film. Their legs were bright green, and it looked like they were wearing socks!
My little Zoe should be a case study for a veterinary school. She was determined to be a hermaphrodite when she went in to be spayed, and now she has been diagnosed with Addisons disease. Addisons is a condition that occurs when the adrenal glands don’t produce enough cortisol, the hormone that helps with stressful situations. It is treated with medications, basically, for the rest of her life. At this time, Zoe is doing well and running with Chance, around and around the race track once again. I’d love to hear from anyone that has a pet or knows of one that has also been diagnosed with Addisons.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the sun! “:O)
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Monday, June 8th, 2009
This week my dog has her 13th birthday. She is my “big girl”, (as opposed to my 3-year old dogs, Chance and Zoe), or also known as Madeline, Mad-Mad, by others as “Mad-dog”, and has lived up to her knickname of “Miss Thickley”. Maddie is a Westhighland Terrier, as is Zoe. They both love to eat - eat everything in sight! Hence, Miss Thickley has earned her name - she’s built like a concrete block - but I love her so much.
At age thirteen, I find my self helping her up the steep stairs to my second level and carefully keeping an eye on her when her stubbornness (yes, another Westie trait) says that she can come down them on her own. At this age, I think she is entitled to some pampering - but not spoiling. She is included in all our “Training Classes” and disciplined like the others - although, if she got a minute of “time out” for every year of her age, she wouldn’t sit anxiously with her eyes fixed on me… she’d be fast asleep, enjoying her cat nap.
So where is this going? No where. I just wanted to share my joy that my first and most beloved dog will be a teen this week and I love every day that she is part of the pack. Happy 13th Birthday, Maddie! “:O)
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Thursday, June 4th, 2009
When you learn someone is “Vegan” so many things come to mind quickly… healthy, hippie, earthy, restricted, boring, self-indulgent, picky, weak, no more barbeques, panic - what do I serve a vegan?, and the thoughts go on…
But, it’s actually it’s a healthy diet that is anything but boring! I became a “Vegan plus seafood” eater a few months back after reading, “Skinny Bitch”. I love eating Vegan and don’t miss the red-meat, the dairy, or the poultry - I really don’t miss how I felt following a meal containing those items. I still love barbequing, I love having company for dinner, and I love the way I feel during the day and especially how well I sleep.
My intent in sharing some of the recipes I have created are for you to try - as alternatives to eating the animal products we all believe are necessary in our diets. Since becoming Vegan plus fish, I have never felt weak, lacking for good food or bored with what is on a vegan plate. Follow me and we’ll explore what is on the VEGAN PLATE!
This week I made a great, spicy, colorful dish - Tex Mex at it’s best!
VEGAN TEX-MEX Makes 2-3 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 bell peppers - choose two different colors for contrast (red, yellow or orange)
- 1 white onion
- 1 can garbonzo beans
- 2 links of FIELD ROAST Brand Chipotle vegan sausage - http://www.fieldroast.com/wheretobuy.htm
- 1 tsp cumin (If you like spicey food - double the cumin and chili powder)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 Tbl olive oil
- Cilantro - 1/2 cup chopped well
- A good sized saute pan
Slice the bell peppers into long strips. Slice the onion into wedges. Saute the peppers and onion in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Slice the sausage into pieces. Add the sausage, garbonzo beans and spices to the pan and continue to cook for about 4 minutes. Add the cilantro, cook for about a minute, and serve!
It’s spicy, flavorful and REALLY colorful! Reheats very well. “:O)
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Ruth Granen is the owner and founder of YOUR HOME, INC.