Sweet Marjoram...

Hot lavender, mints,

savor, marjoram;

the marigold, that goes

to bed wi' the sun,

and with him rise weeping.

William Shakespeare ~ A Winter's Tale

Golden Marjoram and Nasturtium Flowers...

Quite often I get asked about my salad dressing..., its my staple recipe that I can dress up with various herbs and spices.  Above is a photo of the dressing, below is the recipe...  enjoy!

Mix together:- 

2 tbsp    Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tbsp Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

1 - 2 Crushed Garlic Cloves

1 tspn Dijon Mustard

Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

o~o~0~o~o

Its that easy, tossed over a salad of fresh greens, or tasty little new potatoes...mmmmm good...

I'm not sure why bottled dressings are so popular, when something this delicious and fresh can be made in just a jiffy!

Feel free to add your favorite herbs or spices... 

One of my favorites is Golden Marjoram..., I've loved it since a child, I have fond memories of my sister's cooking, especially Sunday Lunch, and her golden roasted chicken with a savory stuffing made with marjoram...  There's just something sweet and good about this herb... I looked up the folklore of it and found that it was a favorite herb of the greek goddess Aphrodite, Romans believed it promoted longevity.., its associated with Joy and Happiness, which is why they would include it in the head dresses of newlyweds... and Egyptians believed that if it was found growing on a persons tomb, it was a sign that the person who had died was happy in the afterlife... 

Whatever its qualities, it really ads something to cooking ~ and its flowers are beloved by bees and butterflies alike... , and me too, I have a small vase of them on my bedside table tonight...

We Have A Beautiful Mother....

"Mother" ~ street drawing done in chalk

Walking around the local waterfront park along the river in Bend this summer, I came upon this gorgeous chalk painting on the bridge crossing the Deschutes river...I've been waiting to to post it for a couple of months now,  and today as I opened  Alice Walkers  book "Anything We Love Can Be Saved," I came upon this poem,  and after reading it I  thought the painting and the poem were meant for each other...

We Have A Beautiful Mother

~ by Alice Walker

We have a beautiful 

mother

Her hills

are buffaloes

Her buffaloes

hills.

We have a beautiful

mother 

Her oceans

are wombs

Her Wombs

oceans.

We have a beautiful 

mother 

Her teeth

the white stones 

at the edge 

of the water

the summer grasses

her plentiful

hair.

We have a beautiful

mother

Her green lap

immense

Her brown embrace

eternal

Her blue body

everything

we know.

My Quiet Corner...

Since starting "A Year Of Finding Love," I have attempted to write everyday.., which as it turns out,  has been impossible for me to do, due to vacationing, and moving etc... but its not because I haven't wanted to..., on the contrary, I find myself craving the sweet, quietness that I need in order to "find" the love to write about and share.  This is where my quiet corner comes in...  Isn't it funny, by simply having  a quiet corner of a room, it can provide such solace and comfort after a busy, go-go-go day (such as today was for me.)

I think the warmth that emits from the gold colored secretary/desk makes it very inviting.., and though its not organized yet, I have started to fill it with my favorite poetry books, photographs of my children, special stones and art... It has a magnetic presence in the room, and I find that during the day when I enter the room, it seems to call out to me... and I have to rush past and try to ignore it..., but truly, I just want to sit down, put the lamp on and play...

Do you have a special inviting place to call your own?  It doesn't have to be big, I thought I needed an entire room, but actually, this little corner and piece of furniture that I can call "My Space" is all I need.

I feel so very grateful for this oasis -  a little place to call my own where I can just sit and be and listen, then write and share and play...  its a necessity now that brings creativity and balance to each and every day.

Sometimes a poem...

Sometimes a poem can say things so much better than I...

Messenger by Mary Oliver

My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
    equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
    keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
    astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
    and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
    to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.