friday freebie alert

Free Spanish course from Berlitz, but you must sign up TODAY!

TGIAM!

Or, thank goodness it's almost May! :-) Putting the finishing touches on a book project that has occupied many of my waking hours since early February (which is not coincidentally when my sporadic postings commenced), and just in time to enjoy the REAL Spring days of the coming month, yay!

Hail, bounteous May, that doth inspire
Mirth, and youth, and warm desire,
Woods and groves are of thy dressing,
Hill and dale boast thy blessing.

John Milton

Have a GREAT weekend, everyone!!!

saving the seas

Still looking for ideas on how to celebrate this year's Earth Day? Then head over to The Nature Conservancy and see their suggestions to help make our oceans and marine life happy and healthy. For example: "Did you know that half of the oxygen in the air is produced by plants in the sea and that oceans absorb about one-third of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions?" I did not know that!

There are also ideas for more responsible eating, gardening, and shopping---all which can affect the health of our seas---as well as information on what you can do to help the coral reefs. Only two more days until Earth Day, so check it out! :-)

earth week

Earth Day is not officially scheduled until later this week, but I've decided to honor this important day all week long. :-) It makes me sad that Earth Day is sometimes dismissed as a crunchy hippy granola event because other than death and taxes, this great planet is one of the few commonalities that we all share. And when we neglect a relationship, whether it be with a person or animal or plant or planet even, the result will never be a good one.

If you're not sure where to get started, Whole Living has 10 suggestions on how to make Earth Day 2010 meaningful. And for the knitters out there, Knitting Daily invites you to join their Knitting Green Challenge---lots of great project ideas!

More to come all this week!


Photo is by Joe Wirtheim, victorygardenoftomorrow.com.

sacred days

When one works from home, taking a day off can be challenging. But over the years, I have come to insist on one day a week that we deem a sacred day, or our family rest day. That means no office work, no "chores", and no extended social commitments. One may chose to spend the day creating in the kitchen or "working" in the garden, and that's ok as long as the decision is voluntary. :-)

Today the rain clouds have gathered overhead and foiled any plans we might have had of spending a pleasant Spring day outdoors. But we are not letting April showers keep us from relaxing and recharging before another busy week. There is plenty of reading and baking and knitting and napping and brunching and planning and pondering and catching up with one another to keep everyone content and grateful for the day.

Hope you are having a GREAT and work-free day, too! :-)

forward

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend with loved ones! It feels like Spring really is HERE now, what with more and more flowers in bloom, the earth warming beneath our feet, the daylight pushing later into the night.

Whether one celebrates or not, Easter weekend always seems the perfect time to reflect on the good of our past, before shifting focus forward to our future, the opportunities for our own rebirth and resurrection.

And of course, eggs. Lots and lots of eggs. In addition to the colored ones my sister and brother and I would paint, Grandmom always made a batch of the PA Dutch variety, dyed a rusty brown color in yellow onion skins. As a child, I thought "Blech!", but many years later I have developed great affection for them, as well as other naturally dyed eggs. If you are like us, though, and find yourself today with an enormous bowl of hard-boiled eggs, here are a few suggestions to help them disappear. I always love a salad nicoise, and of course the red beet eggs recipe is yet another reminder of home. :-)

Here's to the start of a GREAT week!