More On Little Altars....

Traditional Altar for Dia de las Muertes

New Mexico, November 2010

Altar taken from Latin root word "Altare" meaning elevated or raised up.

After writing my blog entry last week about "Little Altars Everywhere," a friend of mine suggested that I might want to look at what other people keep in the various corners of their homes, and perhaps hear their stories, (or "bios" as she put it.) I loved this idea, and after hearing from several other reader friends about their altars, I've decided that I would very much like to see others people's sacred spaces and will be including them in this blog.

If any of you have sacred corners and/or altars that you'd be willing to share, I would LOVE to hear from you, and either you can send photo's or depending on the distance, I would be happy to come and take photo's.

I leave you with this quote taken from Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth.

"You must have a room or certain hour of the day where you do

not know what is in the morning paper. A place where you can

simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be.

At first you may think nothings happening. But if you have a sacred space

and take advantage of it and use it everyday, something will happen."

A Little Love, a little frog on a rose, & a little Hafiz...

Here is a photo taken in the summer.

I love this rose, its a David Austin English rose called "Brother Cadfael." I planted it deliberately by the front door of our house, because of its deliciously sweet scent, and its relatively thorn-free stems, not to mention the constant show of flowers from May through to October.

As you can see, we are not the only admirers of this beauty.. We took several photo's during the summer of "froggy" hitching a ride on Brother Cadfael, he spent weeks on end, tucking himself into one multi-petaled nest after another. I wondered if perhaps he too was a rose connoisseur and appreciator of beauty?

I end this post with a little ecstatic poetry on the subject of Love & Roses , courtesy of the Sufi poet Hafiz... (translated by Daniel Ladinsky)

It Felt Love

How

Did the Rose

Ever open its heart

And give to this world

All its

Beauty?

It felt the encouragement of light

Against its being,

Otherwise,

We all remain

Too

Frightened

With Love,

Neinah

A Bird In The Hand...

We're very happy to welcome back our friendly family of Carduelis pinus (Pine Siskin.) They visit us every winter and spring, and are a delight to feed and watch. Their numbers are strong this year, probably due in part to the mild winter we've been experiencing. I was a rather worried for them after last winters harsh weather. During the worst of the snow and deep frost, I would wake up hearing the birds in the nearby trees, calling me to come and put out their seed.

The deck railings had to be swept first and the snow shook off the assorted feeders.. On one of these mornings I went out, and found one of these sweet little birds, shrugged over, eyes almost closed.... I slowly walked over to him and put my hand gently next to him.. He didn't move, his eyes barely blinking. So I scooped him up and let the heat from my hands warm his cold little feet. I put some seed on my hand for him and he slowly ate. I was so surprised by how unafraid he was,, maybe he didn't have the energy to be anything, he was too frozen.

I loved the quietness that the freshly fallen snow allowed, and as I slowed my breath down, and held that little Siskin, I imagined sending not only warmth but love through my hands to his frozen little body, I spoke with a quieted voice, and told him everything was going to be alright and that he just needed to eat and all would be well.

He seemed to enjoy this new perch on my hand and even after he'd thawed out and began to look around and perk up he didn't want to leave. How special this time felt, to be able to connect with something wild and untamed....

Have you had an experience communing with a wild living thing???

Its time for daffodils..

At this time of year Daffodils "flash upon the inward eye," and bring back memories of my self as a young girl running to school, passing by the church yard filled with grave stones adorned with hundreds of brightly bobbing daffodils flowers...

They hold a special place in my heart, as they herald the coming of spring, and I would guess they're a welcome sight for those of us who live here in the Pacific Northwest due to the traditionally long grey winters we get.

So I send you all this photo and lovely poem by William Wordsworth to brighten your day.

With Love,

Neinah

I Wandered Lonely as a cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed ---and gazed--- but little thought

What wealth and show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

A Taste Of Home...

My eldest "chick" left the nest to go to college back in August of last year. Though she's been home three times in the last six months I miss her very much. I know that she misses us too, (in those rare moments between classes, going to the beach and hanging out with her friends..)

Actually, what she misses, and tells me often, is food from home. Which is understandable, she eats once a day at the dorm canteen and scrabbles to feed herself for the other two meals. (Without kitchen facilities.) So I get weekly requests to send "treats."

Today I made some Gluten free, low carb, lotsa LOVE, "Orange Chocolate Chip Scones", which will be winging their way to my daughter tomorrow.

And I thought I'd spread the love some more and share these goodies with you...

Below is the recipe, inspired by Elana Amsterdam's Chocolate Chip Scones, found in her new book "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook."

2.5 cups of blanched almond flour

.5 tspn sea salt

.5 tspn baking soda

grated zest from 1 large orange

Mix all the dry ingredients and zest in a medium sized bowl

.3 cup of safflower or coconut oil (Elana suggests grapeseed oil)

.25 cup of honey

2 large eggs

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Mix oil, honey and eggs well and then blend with dry ingredients.

Add the chocolate chips to mixture and stir in a BIG dose of Love.

Drop generous tablespoons of mix on a baking sheet lines with

parchment paper, two inches apart.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes until brown at the edges.

Cool for 30 minutes before eating (if you can wait!!!)

Little Altars Everywhere

Do you have favorite little corners of your home?

I do.

To some eyes these places might look like an untidy mess, a mishmash of random feathers, art, rocks, postcards, pottery, books, photos... But to me they are little sacred altars, that feed the quiet place in me that needs to pause during the day, a place for my eyes to rest upon and feel a sense of comfort and softness.

This photo is of one of those special places. Its in the kitchen, so I get to look at it often. I feel like I'm being watched over by a very loving Madonna.

Do you have any special or favorite places in your home that you love?

Signs of Spring..

Is spring just around the corner? After this weekends gorgeous weather, I'm inclined to think so.

It seemed like all the birds knew it too.

We are very fortunate to have woods on two sides of our house, which makes excellent cover for wildlife, the birds especially seem to like it. We've fed them daily for more than five years and we reap the benefit of being able to observe some of Western Washington's most beautiful birds.

My daughter Isabel calls me a "bird nerd," I guess that's about right. I love to watch birds, listen to birds, and photograph birds and i.d them... If I see a new one that I haven't seen before, I just HAVE to know what it is, and won't rest till I know its name...( I feel the same way about plants too.)

On Sunday we were visited by a frisky pair of Sphyrapicus Ruber - Red Breasted Sapsuckers, they flitted and flirted in the sunshine all morning long. It was the first time I'd ever seen one, let alone two!

Birds bring so much joy, by just being themselves...