Before we get started with our daily dose of ridiculous and verbose, or move on to anything else, I have to share that recipe I promised you guys days ago. For the entire thing, plus credits and pictures and the exact nutrition numbers, go here. (Seriously, go there.) For the basics, and just to give you an idea of what you were seeing in that little bowl Dan brought me to taste test, here it is:
- 1 cup couscous
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped dried apricots
- ½ cucumber, seeded and diced
- ¼ cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives
- ¼ cup blanched almonds, lightly toasted
- ¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp chopped mint
Directions
1. Put the couscous in a heatproof bowl. Add enough boiling water to cover the couscous by 1 in (2.5cm). Let stand for 15 minutes, or until the couscous has absorbed all the water. Fluff up the grains with a fork.
2. Stir in the pepper, raisins, apricots, cucumber, olives, almonds, and pine nuts.
3. Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, and mint. Pour over the couscous and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm, or let cool and serve at room temperature.
That particular site has a ton of great stuff on it, this one is not the only thing we’ve tried. Today I went in search of black mustard seeds (did not find them, had to get brown) for a dish that is made with orange cauliflower (there is also purple!), which I really can’t wait to try.
Our title today refers, partly, to the weather (and partly to me too, I did NOT forget the recipe again), it was so freaking sunny today! I went out on the bike, not much else to report about the ride. However, when I got home from my erranding, TA DA! there was box waiting for me on the porch.
Fender! Now affixed securely over the back tire, the better to keep water and mud and all manner of debris OFF of my behind-me areas. (Did Daniel and I have to argue and bitch and fight during, before, and moderately after the installation of this accessory? Of course we did. But then I left the garage, so the conflicts were over at that point.) Once I take it for a test run, I’ll be sure to report in.
One of the places I had to go this afternoon was the library. Across the street there used to be (a billion years ago) a Sears. Then (for another billion years) there was a big pit. Soon there will be an expanded downtown campus for our local community college. Currently it looks like this.
Every time I go by there I want to stop and just watch the progress, it’s a fairly huge thing for us. Not that it will have any bearing on my life, directly, but it’s interesting all the same. (Oh wow, in googling around to find that first link, I found this, which says they have a webcam aimed at the construction. I am totally gonna come back and check it out. You know how I love webcams!)
I’ve had this note in my draft folders for weeks, but I don’t have any pictures to go with it, so I keep just NOT writing about it: hats. My Beloved has been making me new hats. We’ve just about run out of “good” yarn around here because of my special requests. Cotton is the only option (especially now that we know bamboo as fibre is a poor choice). Or cotton with alpaca maybe (not that we have any of that). But mostly just cotton. I promise, over our next weekend we’ll get the camera out so you can see how beautiful his work is, while I’m wearing it (or possibly them).
Just about the first thing I did today was flip over our card. When I saw what the top of it said I kept repeating it in my head, and I was conscious of staying on the awares*. (That’s another part of today’s title, which made itself known, very clearly, as I pedaled past the burnt-up house.)
*I can’t recall where that phrase started, seems like it had to with Winnie the Pooh, but it may have just been used by us during the years we watched those videos with the witchlings several times a day, or even when the original version first played, when I was a kid. I just know that it’s something that sticks in my head, and I still say it.
“Pay Attention ~
Notice repetitious signs and your inner guidance, as they can yield valuable information.
Heaven is giving you important messages, and by drawing this card, you are asked to pay extra attention to them. Notice conversations you overhear, comments made to you by others, inner feelings and thoughts. Look for common threads among the signs, as they are forms of guidance to help you manifest your Divine purpose and desires.
It is not your imagination that Heaven is sending you signs and Divine guidance. Anytime you hear or feel something three or more times, especially within a short time period, it is information worthy of your attention. These signs also give you feedback about your current belief system, since your thoughts attract mirroring experiences. Use these signs to heal beliefs that dishonor you, and swim in the direction that your guidance points you.”
(Standard Doreen Disclaimer: if the word Heaven does not resonate with you, please feel free to substitute it for something that does. I like Universe, but put whatever is comfortable for you in that spot.)
This illustration has its good and bad aspects for me, but the message is entirely good. It has a few levels to it though. The obvious one, about paying attention and noting signs that we are being given, is a great reminder. But she also tosses in that last bit at the end, about belief systems.
My thought here is that she’s basically saying to follow our heart, more specifically, if we are in a position of seeking some spiritual assistance, stay tuned-in to what our emotions and senses are telling us. If we feel as though the place we go for solace is not doing the job, keep looking, don’t settle.
I really like the line that talks about healing “beliefs that dishonor” us. Honor and respect for ourselves are necessary foundational building blocks, basic elements we all need, because once that stable self-support is in place, we are better able to express to others (consciously or subconsciously) that they treat us accordingly, as beings who are worthy of love, honor, respect, and so much more.
Foreign License Plate Report:
that new, very colorful, Alaska; and the newer Idaho one with the bird on it; lots of Texas people; plus a Minnesota.
Today’s Deck:
Magical Mermaids and Dolphins Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue
Once upon a time I thought I wanted to take up weaving. There is an art guild not too far away and they have looms and classes and twice a week when the weavers spend the day weaving. I tried it. The camaraderie was good. I hated the weaving. I lllooovvveeeddd the yarn. And yarn catalogs. Almost as much as I love fabric (sewing, not so much). In another world I might be a fabric artist.
Can’t wait to see the hats!
I always love the messages to be mindful. Reminds me of a tape I used to have of Thich Nhat Hanh. “Wash the dishes with mindfulness as if you were washing the baby buddha.” Crowd laughs. Sweet innocent TNH voice, “why not?” (I can hear it vividly in my head.)
Why not indeed?
A textile artist sounds exactly right! It’s the colors and fibers you are drawn to. A visual, as well as a tactile, experience.
I like this deck. And I’ve actually been working on that whole “paying attention” thing. I realized this week that I’ve felt distinctly off balance, uncentered, unsettled. So I started doing yoga again, and that seems to be helping. But we’ll see what happens.
I’m totally snagging that recipe, it sounds (and looked!) delicious.
Yoga is good for pretty much ANYthing that ails us. But it’s especially good for regaining focus and staying centered. Good choice!
The dish was just lovely, really light and so tasty. We always (Dan’s rule!) do it the first time EXACTLY the way the instructions say, but I bet you could totally switch up a few of those fruits/veggies to match whatever you might have on hand.
Am now paying attention starting in three … two … one …
A nice reminder is never unwelcome.
I completely misread what I thought this card was saying – which is really interesting in itself. I thought it was saying pay attention to what others are saying/doing; which didn’t strike a chord and I was actually replying to that idea when I re read your post and realised I’d invented something that was the total opposite! Not sure what that means – other than I’m tired and can’t read properly, but I’m definitely having a good think.
The recipe sounds yummy, thank you for sharing.
That IS interesting! And funny, since the main theme was to Pay Attention.
Of course, when I find good food, I am compelled to tell the world.
If I were rich I would have a house full of different fabrics and yarns. I am such a junkie. Good thing I’m not rich! (And hugs to you, for not being able to go after new shoes! eeyuk) I’m currently knitting a wee bag for my new cards. But I digress. If you go cotton for your hats, don’t wear them if they will get wet. Cotton, once wet, has zero heat retention capabilities. Climbers call it the death cloth. Not to mention how soggy and saggy it gets.
Okay, Miss Nosey wants to know. What was there for you and Dan to fight about re the fender installation? It seems rather straight forward to me.
Pay Attention. Ugh. Maybe it is time for me to get another ‘to do list’ going so I’m not running around in 50 different directions.
Ha, timely that you mentioned how cotton hats are not the best choice for rainy adventures. Just super recently (during that last few days of torrential downpour) I told Dan about a neighbor I had seen out walking. She had a hood, but wasn’t using it, instead she had on a stupidly fluffy and absorbent looking knitted hat (which did NOT appear to be wool, or any fibre found in nature, and I have lots of experience/history with this subject). She bothered me. It was probably made of some horrid acrylic/petroleum based product.
Straight forward? Not with us. (Go get a snack, this will take a while.)
We ordered THAT particular fender (after much heated discussion) because of the way (it seemed in the picture) that it affixed to the bike. Some used the seat mount pole as attachment, this wouldn’t work for me, there is no “pole” -the seat is jammed down as far as it can go. (Remember, I am five feet tall. JUST five feet, no inches.)
He did not believe me that this one would work, so I went out into the garage (with the fender in my hot little hand) to do it my own self elf. The seat needed to be moved up, just so the fender bracket dealies could be arranged, then the seat could come back down. I don’t have that skill set. Nor the tools to accomplish such a task.
We argued about/throughout pretty much all of this, including a smaller sub-fight about which side the screw goes into and out of on the bracket. At one point, when I asked about something, like a washer-type part, and how it adjusted, he said loudly,
“I don’t know! This is NOT HOW I WORK- no more questions!”
That’s when I went back into the house.
LOL! You two are a hoot. I hope the fender turns out to be worth the fuss.
I know you hate acrylic yarns, and if I were rich and didn’t have pets who gack up on stuff in my house, I would probably go for strickly natural fibers. But I need washer/dryer ease and cheap. (Though there is now argument against regular cotton because it contains pesticides. We just can’t win with big agriculture. [don't get me started]) But, I thought I’d let you know that some yarn makers are using recycled plastic bottles in their blends (Caron Simply Soft Eco, for example). Still not good, but a little better. Red Heart has and Eco Cotton Blend (75% cotton 25% acrylic) that uses cotton from t-shirt facilities that would otherwise be pitched. Again, not super, but better. (Sometimes I work darned hard looking for silver linings)
Oh hell, we can’t win can we?! But hey, I have picked up quilt batting that’s made from the recycled plastics, used it on a few different projects (it is better for some than for others). Tres soft and comfy, feels not at ALL like what it’s made from. I will definitely check out the yarns as well. Thanks!
Since I saw the eagle last Saturday. I have seen at least one a day – either a picture or on the TV or part of a flag. On the way to work I was thinking — I really need to try and figure out what the heck the eagle thing is about. Now I know I REALLY need to do it and not just think about it.
Wow, huge signs there!
sent you an email….trying this using my fb profile for the bettyverse
Worked great (got the letter too). You are now out of moderation, free to comment anonymously and with wild abandon!
trying this, but not sure if too much info shows on the fb page…made some privacy changes there and will try it out.
All I need to pay attention to is getting out of the damned office by 4pm so I can get home in an hour. If I make it out at 4:20 or later, well, it’s at trip of at least an hour and a half. It took 2 hours today because it was Friday and because I stopped and picked up fast food for dinner (another reason to get home earlier rather than later).
Okay, yeah, there’s lots of other stuff to pay attention to. The commute thing is just on my mind right at this moment, less than an hour after I arrived home.
Judie, Judie, Judie: that’s a wonderful thought from TNH. I love his The Miracle of Mindfulness book. I just have to replace my copy, which wandered off.
Here’s what you need to remember though, it’s just time. You have plenty of it, it’s simply not necessary to rush or feel stressed. When you get out by 4:20 you get out, when you don’t you don’t. There are reasons for these things, not a damn one that we usually ever get to know about.
Look around during your drive (when it’s safe to do so) and see what new things you can observe. Laugh at other drivers, say some gratitude affirmations that you CAN drive. Listen to fun new music, sing along to old favorites. The point is, don’t find the negative factor here, seek out the many many postives.
(We have two Judys/Judies. JJJ is spelled with a *y* and our singular Judie is the *ie* version.)
I heard a hawk yesterday and have been trying to pay attention to whatever signs I’m supposed to be seeing. Either they’re not there or I’m being totally oblivious, which is definitely a possibility!
Why does she have a dolphin growing out of her tail?
And yay! for not getting mud and wet sprayed up your back!
Did you look up into the winter trees? Did you scan the skies and enjoy the clouds, or have a chance to notice how gorgeous your lovely wee corner of the world was? Those types of small observations are often the signs we may not always catch. The Universe is often very subtle.
Lol, it’s swimming PAST her tail. But yeah, not such a great composition. I wondered why she was hugging the toy Dolphie Emma used to have (and carried around for YEARS). That plush version had so many miles on it, and she held it in exactly the same way this mermaid is holding the baby in that illustration.
I do NOT want it to rain any time soon, but I AM sort of excited to try out my new fender.