Ginger Peach tea and other finds

March 27, 2011March 27, 2011 / Sheila / 2 Comments

Rosemary

Found some fun new things this week. Mind you, when I say new, I mean new to me…my discoveries may not be cutting edge. But in case I’m not the only one…

Favorite new tea: Republic of Tea Longevity Ginger Peach. This is wonderful as a hot or iced beverage. The flavor is amazing, refreshing, and the tea comes in individual bags with no messy string or paper tag to fuss with.

Google Chrome web browser: thank you Rob! He introduced me to this browser and I like it better than Internet Explorer…seems faster and offers some great new features.

Amazon Windowshop Beta App: A new way to shop Amazon…this is an app from the Google Apps site. Easy to navigate through the page and lots of links to explore…Amazon just gets better and better.

Rosemary scented wash cloths: Place a lightweight wash cloth and a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary in a bowl and cover with water. Microwave one to two minutes until water is very hot. Let the cloth steep in the herb infused water. The longer the cloth steeps in the scented water, the stronger the fragrance will become. I like to reheat the bowl in the microwave just before using so the cloth is a perfect temperature…warm but not too hot. Find the Goldilocks spot for your taste. This is a refreshing way to revive after a busy day or a calming wind-down before bed. Check out the baby department for small perfect sized cloths. This also works well with a few basil leaves or any herb you prefer to substitute for the rosemary.

The best part of these finds is that they add fun, variety and functionality to routine. What’s new with you?

Saturday and the livin’ is easy

March 26, 2011 / Sheila / 4 Comments

It’s been a beautiful Saturday in Ketchikan, Alaska…one of the postcard days that everyone should see here…and so few do! I always feel sorry for the cruise ship tourists who have one day to see the community and have to spend it under umbrellas and rain coats.

But I digress…the past three days here have been amazing. When the sky is clear and blue, the water takes on the same hue and the sun feels HOT. Surprising for springtime in Alaska, but the sun streaming in through my sun room can actually warm the house to a comfortable temperature. And we’re still in March!

The perfect spring weather has been the perfect backdrop to a perfect lazy Saturday. Slept in (7:00 am, thank you!), always a treat to a 5:00 am weekday riser. Had a morning coaching call with my life coach, then a hearty brunch with Rob. We progressed to a few chores around the house, then a workout, grocery stop, and finally, back home to catch up on some online work before ending our day with pizza and a movie. Now, if this is not your idea of perfect, I understand. I’ve had more exciting days for sure. But what is more rewarding, in the big picture, than to realize that the mundane tasks of life can still be fun and that the slow pace of a casual Saturday is just right when you have a loved one to wake with, eat with, run errands with?

We anticipate the big moments in life; special days, exotic vacations, beginnings…relationships, jobs, births, adventures….we mark the calendar with the dates to remember. But we don’t count the most important days of all…the everydays, the working days, the Saturdays that fill the years with the ordinary and the wonderful.

Next Saturday, I’ll have my usual list of things to do. But I’ll take a moment to mark the special day that occurs only 52 times a year. And maybe the sun will be shining again.

Favorite things

March 22, 2011 / Sheila / 3 Comments

These are a few of my favorite things (in random order):

Warm sunshine in my sunroom
Loving words
Rubbermaid tubs (great for boxing and storing)
Macadamia nut cookies (Pepperidge Farm, yum!)
Movies with a message – check out “The Story of Us,” an oldie but a goodie
Odd serendipities – I broke a glass vase yesterday that I couldn’t bring myself to part with, but didn’t really want either – I broke it accidentally; but was actually relieved to be free of it without guilt
Pink tulips
Little Riley’s voice on the phone
Anticipation
Digital books

What are your favorite things?

I needed that!

March 18, 2011March 18, 2011 / Sheila / 1 Comment

You know how life works at times…you see something that is exactly what you need to read, or you hear something that is exactly what you need to hear? This is what I read:

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves – regret for the past and fear of of the future. ~ Fulton Oursler

And this is what I heard:

When it is dark enough, you can see the stars ~ Charles Austin Beard

Have a beautiful weekend!

Shepherd’s Pie

March 17, 2011March 18, 2011 / Sheila / 3 Comments

: Dinner!

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, and all things Irish (yes, my family roots..at least some of them…are Irish…like so many people in the US). This is also a nod to Alex, who loves this dish, Irish music, Irish symbols, and sports a Celtic tattoo.

Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients

Potato Topping:
4 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 – 1/2 cup cream (add as needed)
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Nonstick cooking spray

Filling:
4 slices bacon, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon (or to taste)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pound ground beef
2 to 3 medium carrots, roughly chopped, (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup frozen peas 3/4 cup frozen corn 2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup beef broth (more as needed if filling seems too thick)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Method:
Prepare potatoes. Place the sliced potatoes in a large saucepan cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are fork-tender, 20 minutes. Drain water, then to potatoes add the sour cream, 1/4 cup cream, (or more as needed to make potatoes creamy), butter, salt and pepper, and beat on low speed with a hand mixer until the potatoes are light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Do not overmix. Cover and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10-inch round baking dish with nonstick spray.

Prepare filling: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally until browned and almost crisp, about 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate.

Add the oil to the drippings in the skillet and heat to medium heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the sugar, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to caramelize, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beef and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat, until the beef begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the carrots, peas, corn, and garlic and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and flour and cook, stirring, until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the broth. Cook, stirring and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked bacon, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.

Spoon the meat mixture into the prepared baking dish. Spread the potato topping evenly over the beef mixture. Bake until the filling is hot, the topping is lightly browned and the edges are bubbly, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with cheese. Return to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow dish to rest for 10 minutes.

Serve with fresh warm rolls and butter. Yum!

Springtime

March 16, 2011 / Sheila / 2 Comments

It’s mid-March, and with the time change, the light lingers into the evening. It’s 7:00 pm and I can still look out and see the Tongass Narrows outside my window. Nice to welcome the softer seasons back after a snowier-than-usual stretch.

And with the return of spring months and lengthening days come other signs of rebirth. There are daffodils pushing up through the soil in the flower bed outside my house. The spring clothing catalogs have made their appearance in my mailbox. I’m beginning to think about Easter presents to send my kids. I look at dates to fly down to Arizona to celebrate Riley’s first birthday in late April. And I begin to think of summer plans. All good, all reward for getting through the winter months once more.

I love seasons. I love the change of mood that each season brings. Spring is about awakening. Summer is inherently a more relaxed time. Is that programmed into the American psyche from all the years of the school/summer cycle? First by your own school schedule as a child, then for anyone who has children, by their years in that rhythm. But even beyond the calendar, there is something about the long days that demands a slower pace and a celebration of all things summer: beaches, picnics, road trips, ball games, fireworks, watermelon and burgers.

Fall is the first season of “new year” to me. I always think there should be two re-sets of the year. Also tied to the academic calendar, September (or now August, as classes begin earlier each year) is the beginning of another school year, for so long a way of defining and staging each person: “What grade are you in this year?” And the excitement of fall harvest, Halloween, Thanksgiving…each event is a beloved marker of family and communal sharing that punctuates the months.

The peak of the year for many people, “the holidays,” is both the best and the worst of the annual cycle. I am better than I once was at enjoying the people and not stressing so much about the events. It is a magical time: for children waiting for gifts; for adults, touched by reminders of what is real and good in life. And when the real new year comes, we each have the chance, once more, to reset ourselves by the calendar. To resolve again to be “good,” however we define that for ourselves: diet, money, exercise, goals…it’s going to be different this year!

So, springtime, the second season, is upon us. I look at my spring decor, knicknacks that I am sorting through as I box things in my basement. I have a collection of blown Easter eggs that my kids and I made over the years. I have ceramic bunnies and an egg tree, an assortment of spring wreaths and linens that I’ll pull out for an Easter lunch. The brighter colors and lighter fabrics imitate the outdoors on sunny days, and remind me that many things in life are worth waiting for. Spring is one of them. Then summer. Then fall. Then winter. It’s all good, and fortunately, just as we’re weary of one, the next arrives, in perfect timing. Just as we need the next cycle to begin, it does.

Not at once, but at last

March 14, 2011 / Sheila / Leave a comment

I struggle to patiently await the unfolding of events. I have a lot of ability to be patient with people, but not with circumstances. It is especially difficult to wait through something that seems to be holding up my life…like selling a house…have I mentioned that I have a house on the market? Just a few times?

While I am waiting, I think about one of my favorite phrases. I remind myself that many things happen “not at once, but at last.” Often I see this at work in life circumstances. Other times it defines a personal journey. I am not able to understand something at once, but at last, I get it. I am not able to forgive something at once, but at last, I am able to find that spirit in my heart.

I need soak time, time to mull things over, time to absorb. I don’t know if that makes me a slow thinker, or a deliberate one. Maybe it comes to the same thing. But I do know that when I’m faced with choice, conflict, decisions, I need time to reach a conclusion. And that’s frequently the way life is, at least in matters I would like to be quickly resolved. There is a process, or a chain of events, or a natural unfolding of the story that must be accommodated, must be honored. To try to rush an answer, in my experience, generally leads to a bad outcome. Or a different outcome than I want.

And so I wait. I wait for life to sort itself out, for forces to align. While I’m waiting, I’m doing what I can to make myself ready. And while I’m waiting, I see things happening that give me hope, bolster my faith, help me to know that when the time is right, I’ll have the answers I need. Not at once. But at last.

Haircut Day!

March 10, 2011 / Sheila / 2 Comments

Boy, do I need a haircut!

Best day in a woman’s month! Love to see that note on my calendar: haircut tomorrow!

As if

March 4, 2011 / Sheila / 4 Comments

I have a lot of questions and few answers. When will the house sell? What will the next step be? What is in store in life?

When I begin to feel anxious, I think of a phrase my sister-in-law uses: live “as if.” As if what I desire will work out, as if my dreams will come true. I know saying the words doesn’t make it so. But if life works out differently than I want, I’ll have to face that when it happens. In the meantime, isn’t is better to live in positive expectation? In hope?

Does that mean I bury my head in the sand? No. But I believe in the power of positive attitude. I believe that mindset allows me to stay focused, to be proactive, to be determined. I am ready to relocate, and to do that, the house needs to sell. To be ready to relocate, I need to sort the things that will be moved. I have gotten a moving estimate, I am cleaning out and boxing, I am selling items that will not be moved. Anyone need a grill? Storage shelving? Some things are already spoken for. The chest freezer will go to a neighbor. I’m listing other items in the local online paper. The local thrift store loves me: I’m a frequent donator.

The house is listed, and I’m working closely with the realtor to follow any leads. I know it’s just a matter of time. But it is hard to wait. I tell myself I only need one buyer, and I know that person will arrive soon. Hopefully about the time I’m finished with my sorting project.

I’m not sure what the next step will be. RV road trip? Beach? But I don’t have to have that answer today. I am living as if. As if, whatever the decision is, it will be good. I am seeding the life I hope for. I am looking for the next amazing chapter, and I know that however it unfolds, I won’t be disappointed. Not because I know where the path will lead, but because I don’t.

Trueing my life

February 6, 2011 / Sheila / 1 Comment

So I’m on a quest this year…my 50th year. It’s time for a reset. I have an idea or two…a little scary, but as the saying goes, go big or go home. Think I’m going big. I’ll keep you posted..and let you know if I made a good decision!