a true friend
teach me to do in union with Thee
love of the Sacraments
humbleness of heart
“Seek God daily, but seek Him in your heart, not outside it. And when you find Him, stand with fear and trembling, like the Cherubim and the Seraphim, for your heart has become the throne of God. But in order to find God, become humble as dust before the Lord, for the Lord abhors the proud, whereas he visits those that are humble in heart, wherefore He says, “To whom will I look, but to him that is meek and humble in heart?”
Saint Nektarios of Aegina
on that which is needful
“Spiritual needs are above all, and when they are satisfied, even though the others are not satisfied, peace exists : but when the spiritual needs are not satisfied, then even though all other needs are richly satisfied, there is no peace. That is why the satisfaction of them is the one thing needful.”
The Spiritual Life and How to be Attuned to it
Saint Theophan the Recluse
contain yourselves
“Odd as I am sure it will appear to some, I can think of no better form of personal involvement in the cure of the environment than that of gardening. A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world.” Wendell Barry – The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays
Even if you have only a tiny patio or balcony, growing your own food is a possibility. No matter how little space you have, with a packet of seeds, a few pots or other container of your choice, you can turn a blank space into an edible landscape. Whether you grow an assortment of kitchen herbs or potted potatoes, carrots and beans it’s easy and can transform an urban space into a haven and retreat.
A few weekends ago, we picked up some cedar planters at our local plant store DePaul’s Urban Farm and then the kids got to work staining them and planting some carrots.
Soon we will have an awesome harvest of carrots.
Also too we have potted potatoes – so much easier to harvest because they are confined to one space than planting in a larger garden. For something a little different we added sunflowers into the mix – for a little flowery effect. They will bloom soon!
Whatever you chose, the main thing is to have fun with your planting and make a space which is visually and edibly pleasing.
At the end of the day, nothing compares to your own fresh grown food. Just as wonderful is that you really don’t need a lot of expertise or skill to grow them – especially beans, tomatoes, peas and any salad vegetable.
The past ten years have seen a rapid increase and high demand for real local sustainable food. Not a new idea, just one misplaced for about a century!… previously all food was local, mostly because there was not the ability to transport it, or the chemical fertilizers to mass-produce it.
Family gardeners restore and heal their little part of the world starting with their own space and being. Working the dirt, it is inevitable that knowledge, experience and success from those lessons unearthed in the garden tills into other areas of our lives ~ gratitude and thanksgiving for the harvest, family and friends!
“In almost every garden, the land is made better and so is the gardener”. ~Robert Rodale
kombucha
Blessing “the “hands that feed me”…
To bless doesn’t just mean “think good thoughts” or “be nice.” To bless is far more radical. It is to actually give life, to have one’s cup run over into the lives of others. To have one’s parents’ blessings is to have each of them send you off into life saying “I see you. I know you are good. I believe in you. I trust you. I am proud of you. May you be fruitful and multiply…” To bless is to speak from and for and to the divine, as a priest blesses a marriage or christens a baby. To bless is to respect the integrity and mystery of the life of another.” (Vicki Robin – Blessing the Hands That Feed Us)
In case it’s new to you, kombucha is sugar sweetened tea that is fermented and cultured into a sour tonic drink that can be double fermented to get a fizzy carbonation in the final beverage.
The fermentation occurs through the work of a community of microorganisms. Kombucha is cultured into fermented tea through the SCOBY – a rubbery disk that floats atop of the tea and takes the shape of the fermentation vessel. This is similar to the making of apple cider vinegar – which forms a similar by product known as mother of vinegar. It’s pretty interesting stuff… and takes some getting used to, but it works!
Some Russians call kombucha tea kvass.
In recent years kombucha has gone from relative obscurity to top selling health tonic and is now available in most health food chains, including MOMS Organic Market and Whole Foods.
One point of note is that kombucha is not for everyone, and so if it doesn’t agree with you, don’t drink it. It’s not meant to be guzzled like a tall glass of water.
We’ve started making ours, but in small batches. Last summer we babysat a friends kombucha brew, which made more than a gallon per brew. It was too much.
You can find lots of information on brewing kombucha as well as supplies and recipes here: Kombucha Kamp.
We’ve been having fun experimenting with kombucha infused with grapefruit and with ginger.
gladsomelife.com 