Ok so call me whacky. I had a great harvest from my small garden this weekend. Kale, collards, celery, tomatoes, grapes, swiss chard, cucumbers (finally! I planted late:),purple basil for drying, etc.
     I blanched the collards & froze them last night. I made a large pot of kale,zucchini & bean soup this morning & will juice or bake the rest. The birds beat me to most of the grapes so the little I had was juiced & frozen to use as sweetener in future baking.  Made  juice from my organic carrots & just stowed the rest of my organic cabbage soup in containers. (FYI Cruciferous veggies fight free radicals that can cause cancers, eat them!:)
Now something of interest for you gardeners & basil lovers: Thai basil came back in the garden! Apparently Rochester,NY climate supports it's overwintering.
    The sun is shining, Dad is fed & exercised. I'm going to sit in my wicker rocker on the front porch & get to work. hahaha I guess the harvesting didn't really feel like work, although my 52 yr old back would beg to differ. :)
Pools open for one more week, yeeha!
Hope you've enjoyed the Autumnal Equinox ,

Deborah♥

Marshmallows & Riesling

         A few days ago I celebrated my 52nd birthday and yes, clear the room, ...it's time for reflection (yawn). :)   In the 1980's in Los Angeles, a psychic had told me that after I turned 50, things were going to really start looking up for me in regards to the larger picture, my health, larger dreams, & desires.  Since the first 50yrs were very challenging, death, rebirth & struggle, that reading gave me hope.
      Another psychic during that same time period, had told me that no matter how tired I become, to "...keep going, don't ever give up, & you will be successful ".  Well they were both right.
               SO it's what some would call the second half of my life, & yes, things are looking up. My life is much improved yet more challenging at the same time, like it would be for any business owner and at 52, I'm getting a little tired & sometimes I feel success is a truly a relevant term. Then I try  to remember an inspirational song phrase or something of that nature & I'm sustained for a few more minutes.

      It's also become easy lately to become exhausted & disconnected. People & places do come & go so quickly now & the demands on time & energy can be overwhelming.  Caffeine & meds have taken over a large portion of American society that now doesn't know when it needs to chill.
    I've noticed that this year, more than ever, a lot of people are very tired, very sad, angry, frustrated, scared . It's manifesting in illness for so many & for some it's resulting in passing. As a matter of fact, I've noticed one of the things often said by those passing before they go is, " I'm tired".
              Every so often I realize the need to slow myself down, & water the roses.  My poor gardens suffer most obviously when I'm running around too much & watering is very therapeutic for me.
        Well it's one of those times. Feeling the shifting of the axis & life hurling out of control for many, I'm trying to make sure that everyday I do something, even if its only "one" thing, that makes me feel good, laugh or relax and/or brings me one step closer to or thru what ever's bothering me to what ever it is I'm passionate abt.
       I noticed long ago , when I was practicing yoga & meditation at 12, that being still , I could create in that moment, whatever I wanted that moment to be. I could have quiet, I could make myself relax, get rid of a headache, ask questions & listen for inner guidance. I would dream abt the kind of life I wanted or create a song or an idea for a new invention.  I would get grounded & organized more easily, & I could even find the checkbook when it went missing!
          When we feel physical or emotional discomfort it usually means somethings up.  It's our internal system giving us a warning. If we're loaded on stimulants or other addictive substances , or we never have quiet time, we can't hear a thing.
            It's very very important to pause, get centered & get grounded & listen. Do something everyday for your mental & physical health.  Find nutrition that gives you energy (fruits & veggies) & exercise that makes you feel good.  Yoga, tai chi, stretching, meditation to still your mind, help you relax & listen. Martial Arts, jogging, biking, swimming to energize you (believe me you will rest & sleep soundly at nite :)
      Another of my favorite things to do is sit by the fire outside solo or with friends, roast a few marshmallows & sip a very little bit of Riesling, w/ my gong & fountain gently sounding in the breeze, watching the embers glow & hopefully catch the moon & a few stars as we turn ever so silently on our axis.  What are some of your favorite things to do to relax ( besides sleep :) ?

Submitted For Your Consideration

Deborah Magone

as

 " Best New Artist" 

54th Grammy Awards!

                                                            http://deborahmagone.com/#all

Corporate Double STandards

FBI Raids Home of Scott Walker's Former Top Aide

"... two years' probation after pleading guilty to two felony violations of state campaign finance laws for exceeding the donation limits and laundering donations to Walker and other Wisconsin politicians."http://www.readersupportednews.org/news-section2/315-19/7447-fbi-raids-home-of-scott-walkers-former-top-aide

Gov. Scott Walker & ALL those corporate tools like him have been trashing good public servants for decades now , building propaganda in the media (mostly on FOX fake news) & local newspapers against, teachers, police persons, firemen & women, & other public employees, cutting public services that many Americans depend on.  As you now know they've been enriching their own bank accounts , constantly abusing & literally stealing our tax dollars to enrich themselves & leave America broken.
     This article gave me a ray of hope this morning that there may still be some good left in American law enforcement. More hope will come when Walker & others like him at the "top" of the government crime ladders are prosecuted & brought to justice.
Remember, election season is upon us.  Vote the record not the personality , the pearly whites or the hair piece.
Check your candidates voting record here.
Public Citizen Access to Justice, Financial Reform and Government Accountability

Chillin after the Fallout

Ok so hearin' abt the aftermath of the Republican debate & how the candidates thought it's all abt "freedom" to be able to let a young man in a coma die  because he didn't have insurance & that he should buck up & be responsible for his coma, (despicable applause from the audience) , I thought to myself...hmmm ...I wonder what the Dems would say when asked the same question?
         Then I thought, well, they'd more than likely say we should have " a healthcare system that covers ALL Americans" (which is not really a plan or an answer; i.e. could be code for a "privatized plan").        
          After all they've been conceding to most demands made by corporate & they (Dems) have been allowing the continuation of Bush (Republican) practices, destroying the economy & now unions & the U.S. Postal Service, still killing innocent American soldiers, Afghans & Iraqi's w/ drones, Patriot Act & no accountability for any corporation or anyone in leadership, anywhere.
       Could it be that both parties are pretending to play the  "good cop- bad cop " game in order to keep us voting for one & then the other when one fails ?  You know they often break bread together, take money from the same lobbyists & belong to the same social clubs SO, what do you think ?
      Isn't it time to start breaking the chain & start voting for the only party that chooses NOT take corporate bribes or join clubs that would allow members that do ?  I say run for office as a Green & if you can't run , then vote Green from now on & see things really change......for the better.
Going to go chill & watch The Nanny & get some laughs in before sleep.
 

      

I'm baaack ! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1lS_Zphw0Y