Traditional Values

When my husband and I were visiting with a friend recently we realized how sometimes we come across to others as a "traditional couple". It's rather odd for us to think that we are seen in that way, because from the moment I had met my husband, we dated and we debate over EVERYTHING, we were so far from being the same personality. We had different ideas of traditions, of politics, and of faiths, yet the one thing we had in common when we first met was that We both never wanted to be traditional, yet we DID get married so for some people that could be considered more of a "traditional" way of living....We have always challenged each other even years later about becoming stuck or carrying out traditional thinking.
I have always been a questioning person, because not following the crowd was HOW I was raised actually. I don't regret a second of seeking outside that box, outside the bible and that system of my childhood....Being traditional left my husband and I talking late into the day about what does it mean to us, we have always been worried about being told from society how to live verse figuring it out for ourselves, we still like disagreeing and debating with each other, so being summed up in a way made us both think deeply over our ideas and standards.
          My husband has been teasing and joking now with everything I say or do because he thinks it's funny to even be remotely considered "traditional". He says if anyone is traditional in our relationship it would me though, again I laugh at all his cleverness! (He's a funny guy)
  A white church with a steeple comes to my mind when I hear the word "Traditional" and even when I was being described that way in that very moment I  sat searching for a better word like "Classy." or "Respectful" or maybe "Virtuous" instead of "traditional" 
(Not to pat myself on my own back mind you, just not wanting to be misunderstood) So I was a bit fired up over the encounter when afterwords my husband ran with that phrase for days! I guess this happens without really paying attention, we grow up into leadership rolls, for I know how I see the world clearly. I live everyday with a connection to all things, my passion and protection go hand in hand, living wisely, caring and dealing with others is most important to me. For I want to be aware of people's feelings and thoughts, yet I also have to stand my ground, take responsibility for who I am....and now I don't think being traditional is a bad thing........If it means those things? right? 
I guess that it has all been a GOOD thing to think about and to wonder over, for what is tradition and what is judgement? Do they get mixed up at times?
 Because I do NOT want to be Judging even when standing up for myself.
           I don't want to live like most people, I don't want to get stuck in all their rules as well.....I'm hoping to grow, change and live without limits and carry my responsibilities wisely....I can simply just be traditionally ME, with my values and most importantly with my dreams!

A Soup Recipe

 *Kale and Sausage Soup*
In my cast iron dutch oven on medium heat over the stove I cook a pound of ground sausage. With a whole chopped onion and 3 garlic cloves. The wooden spoon I have will stir and break up the cooking meat until it's brown the oils and fats will cook up the onion as I toss in chopped carrots and celery. Putting the lid over for a couple of minuets to steam cook those hardy veggies.
Once seasoning and stirring in salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne or chili powder fill the pot with water or bone broth. Leave on medium heat until it all comes to a boil then add in chopped kale maybe even cilantro or parsley. (I usually try to use up my veggies for many different styles of soup.) 
For a thicker soup also I will add in roasted cauliflower,finely chopped it looks kinda like rice into the boiling soup. Once soup has come to a boil reduce heat to low and serve! 
The second or third day serving taste just as good as when it was first made. It's a hearty warm meal, (NO cans of anything) Homemade soup is the BEST! And remember in these freezing cold winter days along side a glass of red wine or hot tea this soup can be changed up all the time, so it's never boring!

Happy Winter Eating!

Learning to cook

When I think of the king of cooking, I smiled to myself at the ever so sexy handsome Gordon Ramsey! He is both smart and smooth with cooking, He's funny, clever and even sweet to his family on his many shows.(I really think that if I had been a guy I would have looked JUST like him! HA!)

       I also think that if I could learn from him, even taking notes like I already do then it makes me feel close to being "kinda cool" or slightly awesome, only I would need his British accent I think to REALLY be more like him, get that full of Awesomeness down correctly!

I love his common sense, his style for perfection and over all these years I have been following him carefully in order to help with my own confidence in the kitchen, I've really gotten  into cooking now more then when I was younger, Lately I think to myself 

"What if Gordon Ramsey came to my home, would my kitchen pass for his proper rules of cleanliness?" THIS is a VERY important question of course, I can just see it ALL now......his wink and grin shinning at me with a thumbs up as I wave back proudly showing off my stuffed rested roasted turkey along side the zesty cranberry sauce for those romantic holidays he has created on his shows. he would blow me a kiss from a far and I would be ever so perfect looking with such plates of good food to share! 

Then I hear the theme song for his tv show "The F word" which wakes me up from my day dreaming so I race into the living room to enjoy the changing of his shirts for work as the show begins! How clever to mix cooking lessons along with such desire for those simple delights in life! 

 

My Chickens Shit

     Yesterday my 6 year old buddy Joshua came to spend the day with me, last summer we hung out ALL the time and since he started school and I started being a nanny we haven't hung out as much. Now that I've moved and am renting a different place he can't bring his big dog Summer over like before...Which with my 6 chickens now in my daily life having a big lab running around freely like before could get crazy! (I do miss seeing that sweet dog)

    Yesterday after a hearty warm breakfast Joshua and I bundle up to clean out the chicken coop. I showed him my 6 ladies of laying, the big fat speckled chicken came with the place named Fiona, the 2 tan chickens that are still teenagers named Thelma and Louise. (those are my most dramatic crazy chickens, they get stuck up in trees next door or squawk like I am killing them if EVER I actually have to touch them.) The all black hen is their mother, she is a spit fire biter. I ALWAYS put on gloves when dealing with her. Her name is Momma Sue usually walking beside her sister Suzie Q, the silver head fluffy feeties easily startled other hen. It took Suzie Q 2 weeks before she step out of the chicken coop once we got her. The other day she saw my husband come outside and freaked out flipping over the fence like an idiot in her panic. Whenever I carry her, she shakes like she is dying in my arms, so annoying! Then last and the littlest hen is my white cheeked Little Suzie. Soft, calm and easily carried girl, she will chirp back to me whenever I call out for her. She spends most afternoons over the fence into the apartments at the back of our yard....so far all the chickens have the routine down being let out into the yard for a couple of hours then go to the fenced in part for safety as my dogs run by. Yesterday Joshua helped me gather the eggs and change out the straw. "Look at ALL that chicken poop! gross!" He said as I raked and laughed explaining "And that is just one week's worth!" He ran up on the chickens which scared them to death, so they all flew every which a way and I just shook my head because sometimes I can't help to wonder if chickens are honestly stupid when panicked. After a few hours I told Joshua that I needed to take out fresh water for the chickens once again, he protested "We just did that this morning!?!" I nodded and explained "It's below freezing so that water bowl is frozen by now, fresh water for the chickens is THE most important thing you can do for them in the winter. They need a dry safe place to sleep, it doesn't have to be heated as long as they have fresh water everyday." He raced outside to see if I was right about that big bowl of water being frozen, bewildered he carried it back inside the house "That is weird! Look! it's ice now!" 

I carried out the pitcher of fresh water chuckling at how fun it is teaching about chickens, for I have learned so much in the last 6 months myself! We even found a frozen egg too, it cracked but the yoke stayed frozen solid. "Isn't that cool? you can see inside the egg without the mess!" I showed Joshua, who asked "Where's the baby chick?" I exclaimed "Baby chick!?! if there WAS a chick in there I would freak out dude!" He laughed at me as I looked at the frozen egg again in alarm. "You have to have a rooster, a boy chicken to get chicks INSIDE that egg, so luckily my ladies just lay eggs to eat NOT to have more chickens around here!" I waved my hand out across the snowy yard. "Do you have any idea if each egg became another chicken, I would go crazy that would be WAY to crowded! my 6 ladies keep me very busy as it is, Noooo more chicks please! I am happy to not have a rooster unless I move to a real farm. Joshua looked around then replied in his cute smirky clever way "You kinda have a small farm right here." he shrugged and I giggled as we raced back into the warm house to put puzzles back together and finish coloring for the rest of the afternoon.

Tasty Spirits

For this new year I've been wondering how could I get to live in Cannon Beach one day, When we were there over Thanksgiving weekend we discovered the Cannon Beach Distillery, a really fascinating place! This young man use to vacation in Cannon Beach with his family then took his education in chemistry to a whole other level! What a successful business plan and what a fun place to live! The taste and quality of those spirits he makes right there were wonderful to share! We really hope he does great, It is a fun thing to learn how people follow their dreams and plans....
I often am left inspired wondering how does one get started creating the life from a dream?
Hard work, happiness and believing in yourself are the first steps to reaching those goals. But I also think it takes a certain courage to simply GO FOR IT. I've always thought a bed and breakfast would be a really fun business or a doggie hotel where people can stay at nice hotels while on vacation still bring along their dogs, I could watch over them at night then the pet owners can pick their dogs up for the day of fun, I like the idea of creating a paleo restraunt too. The way we use to eat isn't cutting it anymore, having a desire to share better healthier foods would be a blast! YET all these dreams are fun on paper and in conversation, daydreaming and reality create a good healthy balance in life I think.....
Inspiration is what gets the job done! Maybe I will or maybe I won't run my own business one day it's okay either way. I love how everyone has a life story, everyone has a dream to reach for! I also LOVE that small cute cozy town on the Oregon Coast......where now you can drink locally made gin on the sand in Cannon Beach while the sun sets behind Haystack rock against the waves and in your heart all things stay in place! Time is still for the moment you are there and your dreams grow bigger wings to fly!

The Kitchen Sink

       There is one household chore that I love above all else, and it's washing dishes! Now I like to sweep, vacuum or dust, I like to organized and put away clean clothes. I can't go a day without opening a window for a bit of fresh air. ANY and ALL dirty laundry drive me crazy, even a bad odor will send me racing through the house to discover why it's there.....I dislike washing windows, and bath tubs so there are a few chores I hate....yet in my kitchen, in my clean healthy calm good kitchen I have discovered my most favorite place to really CLEAN! Doing dishes by hand since we moved in 6 months ago has reminded me how therapeutic those moments are!
I have a dirty dish side of the counter, I will organize a soapy bowl for the silverware and stack from dirtiest to just so, so dishes Then I lay out thick dry clean towels to catch the rinsed off dishes as I stand there and get to work, The Kitchen window is one of my favorite daydreaming places....After how ever long I wipe down door handles, refrigerator shelving and take out the trash. Then I polish up the kitchen sink so no water pools or lays on it. How amazing it is to have squirrels watch me in the morning, or  candles glow at night. One of the most important things while washing the dishes is to let the silverware soak in that boiling hot water for awhile before you do the dishes, so this is when I wipe down the stove and oven...maybe put some lemon juice in the microwave to easily wipe out then get back to those dishes. Our microwave came to us a week or so ago, (from our old landlords next door) Truly a kind gift that we have actually missed having, we usually re-heat everything in or on the stove, but then there were some late nights when I had wished for a quick and easy microwave......Maybe one day I will ask how did we live so long without a dishwasher also? 
For now I really truly love washing dishes, looking out the kitchen window as one of the  cats may come and sit up there with me chit chatting or a squirrel will dance around outside, It's those simple things that make HOMEMAKING a true joy and artful magic in my life!

Renewing Another Year

           Over the last few years my life has shifted into a healthy happy place that took me out of shopping at the mall to growing at home. Looking back over these several months I have learned about our fast pace working successful life styles that make it almost impossible to have a home cooked meal. This year I've decide to share these things I have learned.(Not that I have it all figured out but I am more at peace then ever before, more calm and confident.) The days will come when we will need to know how to grow, how to fight for what is right and important to us. Learning to be helpful and independent gives us such amazing joy, also gives that peace of mind in how we can take responsibility.
Some of my best mornings over these years have been listening to this survival pod-casts with fresh coffee in hand, while also looking out my window to the wide open world knowing that when I'm done working for that day out there it's going to look good!
Living side by side with nature is one of the gifts I hope to convey over this next year on my blog, I am not saying shopping or the mall are bad places I just think if they take every free moment you have away then there is most defiantly a BETTER WAY....