Sundays and Sleeping In

Oh boy, did I. I can't remember the last time I slept until a quarter until noon but I did this day. A combination of a full belly and heavy rain outside lulled me to a sweet, dream filled sleep. It wasn't until Colin woke me that I realized I had been out so long. Luckily, my daughter was still in her diaper and that diaper had not exploded. Colin threw brunch together from last nights left over components; ham and cheese quesodillas with orange sofrito. Do I need to tell you they were absolutely delicious?

Sitting on the couch after brunch, we watch Lilo and Stitch and then sit down to enjoy some Led Zeppelin. My daughter makes up her own dance to the sound of Ramble On; it brings a smile to my still sleepy face. Then in the middle of dancing my dear girl slips and falls, tears springing to those little blue eyes.

The tears don't last long but it is good thing to give comfort.

One of my presents at Yule was Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier. Today, I will me making a take on her Steakhouse pizza. I'll post pictures and the recipes, both original and my adaptation later today. Her opening words about this recipe really caught my eye.


"Warning: If you make this for a dude, he will love you forever. So make sure the dude is someone you don't mind loving you forever. Otherwise it could be a little inconvenient ."

-Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier pg. 142

Ordinary Miracle

"The sky knows when it's time to snow
Don't need to teach a seed to grow
It's just another ordinary miracle today"



-Sarah McLachlan "Ordinary Miracle" 






Colin is in the kitchen making queso fresco, I have just finished making the sofrito and having a good, store bought cider. My daughter is watching Charlotte's Web as we three settle in for a relaxing evening. The simple pleasure of the night embraces me and I cannot help but smile. My new shoes fit good, my body is comfortable and comforted. Life is very good, without doubt.

Sometimes life hands us a raw deal, sometimes life is tragic without reason or explanation. Sometimes life is so full of want, need, loneliness and pain that we lose sight of what is beautiful about what we have here on Earth. Everyday, ordinary miracles surround us. A man I love made a wonder and delicious cheese. I made a beautiful and clever little girl. A brave and charming woman gave birth to me and a strong, good man raised me into the woman of conviction I am today. Three months ago I saw a double rainbow over the house.

I have a job that is hard but it is mine, makes money that feeds my family. I have a cat who seems to always know when I need his comfort and a faith that is steadfast and rich.

Our lives are ordinary miracles, if we dare to see them.
One day I will sit on my homestead in the fading light of dusk. The milk will be in, the eggs collected and my body will sing a epic of pain, satisfaction and joy. My children will make me smile and make me cry, my Clan will hold me, educated me, stress and sustain me. People who are part of my urban sphere will pass out of my reach if not my memory, new friends and clan mates will comes as the years spend themselves.

An authentic life well lived in good, hard work and joy. It is all I search for and it is all I want.

Help me.



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Today, it begins!

An apple a day...

I spoke of Cyser but in truth it is Pyment. Apple, grape and honey come together to make a sister to the cyser so popular in the cold season. Last night we racked the apple wine and bottled the metheglin. Metheglin is spiced mead; ours is spiced with cinnamon bark, cloves, all spice, and nutmeg.

And in the midst of all that we found the last bottle of the Blueberry Beer! Thought to have been all drunk up a few months ago, we were delighting and instantly thirsty upon its discovery. The kitchen is awash in the scent of apple, grape juice and sweet baked ham. With most of the Clan gone down to Texas for the last days of Christmas Vacation and other members visiting friends in Kentucky, it leaves the Clan Home empty except for my daughter, Colin and I. Thus giving us the time and space to attend to many projects, namely the brewing. 

May a cyser a day keep your troubles away. :)

Christmas Eve Rain

The rain comes down cold, chilling the air and soaking into the dark earth. One of the many reasons I love the Tennessee Valley is the cool, wet wind that come off the mountains. It kisses my skin like a lover, that moist air and makes me smile. I don't enjoy the crushing cold but cool wind and the sense of water on it fills me with joy. Tonight is Christmas Eve and my daughter watches A Muppet Christmas Carol on the TV. Pai is curled on the couch beside me, our she wolf in the skin of an Australian Shepard. Durellen, whose name means 'Dark Star', is curled on a chair and purring, content to spend his Christmas Eve inside for once. Colin is out
with Rhiannon, another driving lesson to sharpen her young skill. Kieran is downstairs, likely in the library and on her laptop. Angela is upstairs in her own room, likely packing for the trip to Texas. Seamus is at work, but only for another hour now become he comes home. The house is quiet but for the movie and my typing. My daughter's happy face does much to blunt the sharp edges of my pain; losing Anders still hurts. I still accept, the wheels still turn but I miss my little flame furred one.

As we descend into winter and I start the first day of my five day vacation, I breath a sigh. It is of equal parts relief and weariness. There is much done, some rest to be had and much else to do in the coming months. Rhi will be leaving for the Navy come Spring, the honey bees will be coming in at the same time. It will be time to put seed to plant and grow new things. It will be time to grow in new directions.

It makes me very quiet and thoughtful.

A very merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate. Safe travels and good feasting to all of you.

She dreams in Scrumpy

Scrumpy. Cyser. Apple Wine. A song to drench the mind. Christmas is just around the corner but the weekend, a blessed four day weekend, means that I will have the time to learn to make apple cyser. A stronger version of the apple cider we enjoy warm during October, one that can easily put you on your butt if not careful. I'm alight with joy at the prospect; brewing is a dearly loved tradition in the clan. As is cheese making, baking, canning and leather working. Now I turn my hand to brewing and I am as happy as a school girl. 

The Dying Time

Dawn on a grey day

The second day of winter sees a death in the clan home. This morning I found our orange tabby, Anders, unresponsive and with no pulse. He was still warm, so I imagine he died barely an hour or so before I prepared to walk out the door. My hands still hold the tang of the red earth, my shoulders ache from the shoveling to prepare a proper place. I light candles and place them in the lanterns hanging from the branches of the tree. The tree stands like a silent guardian over the grave, were I give of green grass and leaves, the color of the Goddess of Cats. I say a pray, ask the Green Eyed One to open her paws to her flame furred child. The earth is the color of old blood as I smooth it back into place, patting it down until my palms are caked with dirt. Its my element, so to have it smeared from nails to wrist is no cause for concern. I place stones and bricks atop the grave, pressing them hard into the soft, cool ground.

I found Anders in a parking lot, alone and very small. I took him to clan home, to feed and care for this little orange orphan who needed me. My only comfort is that his life would have been cut short much sooner and uglier had I not acted.

It is only a small comfort, as I watch the fire dance in the lanterns and my eyes fill with tears.

Death is a part of the cycle, another turn of a wheel to give way to yet another. May his next story and mine, hold sweeter tales to tell.

Merry Yule; Bring the winter down

A bronze and pearl glass star. A cascade of rainbow lights, silver bows and ruby beads. Don't forget a opalescent unicorn with a wreath around his neck and a regal star with horns of moonstone, albeit the color and less the gem.  Throw it all a top of Frasier Fir and plug it in. Our prettiest clan tree yet, to celebrate both this very day of Yule and Christmas later on in this week. Traditionally, we would have a Yule log burning long into the night to bring fortune to our home. Today marks the first day of Winter marked by the Roman calender. For some of us clansmen the winter began at Samhain. This is a sweet moment, celebrated with much love and warmth. My day began early and in the gathering dawn I mentally ran down my lists of things to do. I rose, dressed and the first thing I do is go downstairs and vacuum. Picking up all those stray nettles, watering the tree and turning on the fireplace. I make sure the candles are lit and the room is already smelling good; pine and cider.

Then I run upstairs to get the ham ready. Into the big steel pan goes a shank ham, studded with cloves and drizzles in clover honey. Wine and whiskey get poured over the meat, a little sea salt and pepper. Add a little fresh basil, a generous handful of organic herb mix from our summer garden stores and a little more honey. I put the ham in at 260F for 4 hours; the tempting smell fills every corner of the house. Now I pull on my great house, emblazoned with my silver unicorn on the right shoulder, and drive to the store to get the last makings for my fancy hot chocolate. I make it every year around this time and at the end of this post, I will include the recipe for it. One by one, the clansmen and women slip out of there blankets. I throw sausage links on a hot, cast iron skillet and watch the smiles. Brown eyes, blue, hazel and green all sparkle with the pleasure of knowing breakfast is close at hand. The organic milk goes in the stockpot, the cream and the cocoa powder. Vanilla follows and then cinnamon. I add a generous tablespoon of honey to sweet the pot, literally! What I get is a seasonal favorite and everyone gathers close to have a cup.

Whether you celebrate Yule, Christmas or any other winter holiday, this is the time to let your family come close. Set aside the troubles and smile, dance, and give presents. Make good food and enjoy it with those you love. Remember that the winter is a hard time, a dying time and that these holy days are the time to create joy. Go forth and shine, though the cold wind blows.

Clan Hot Chocolate

6 cups of organic whole milk
2 cups of half and half
1/2 cup of hot cocoa mix (I use Kroger Brand)
3 TBSP of Hersey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder
1 TBSP of clover Honey
1/2 TSP of cinnamon *Optional*
1 TSP of vanilla extract

Pour milk and half n half into stockpot and warm.
Then add cocoa mix, cocoa powder, and honey.
Stir well.
When warmed to a shimmer, take off heat and add cinnamon.
Stir continuously to avoid a skin forming on the milk mixture.
Pour and enjoy.