Lovage

Lovage (Levisticum officinale).

This Lovage plant is the first herb to appear in my garden after the snow has melted. Now is the time that I am convinced my other herbs have died off after the harsh winter. But that is the beauty of perennials - even when you think they're dead - there is still a hint of life somewhere. This reminds me of my favorite childhood story, The Secret Garden! I loved the character Dicken. He could look inside of a plants stem and tell if it was still alive; he called this hint of life "wick". I was always so sorry that Mary Lenox didn't marry Dicken, but chose the rich, spoiled child, instead, who admittedly made the biggest transformation in the story, apart from Mary. Even the spoiled child was full of "wick" when placed in the right ground, metaphorically speaking.

But, back to my lovage plants, which make speedy transformations in their own right. I mean, look at those dead stalks, the plants limbs from last year. Wouldn't you be convinced the plant was a goner, seeing those? Life is amazing! Lovage, is a very hardy perennial and will multiply and crowd out everything in your garden if given its freedom. Don't worry, I'll be trimming away the dead parts from last year very soon.

Lovage is similar to Angelica in its uses, whatever those are? In summer the plant will grow tall stalks up to 3 feet high with flowers containing the seeds that can be dried and used as a spice. It takes no care once established, apart from thinning out. Thinning is something for which I have no talent. I somehow managed to kill off, for ever, our Iris patch when I tried thinning them. Consequently, the lovage plant is let to expand and thrive on its own terms, and it loves it.

Lovage is an "aromatic stimulant and a digestive tonic". Lovage cordial is an old- fashioned drink used to settle the stomach. The plant is also a diuretic (makes you pee) and diminishes a build up of fluid in the body. Meaning, it is probably good for a Kapha dosha, like mine. Its fresh leaves have the aroma and taste of celery and are good in soups, salads, stews, and on fish. Warning: lovage should not to be used during pregnancy or in the case of kidney disease.

This is a plant that I never see at landscape stores. It was already here when we moved into the house, a sort of welcoming gift from our homes past owners. I'm determined to show my gratitude for this amazing gift by actually using it more. That's the way to do it, by action instead of just words. This would mean gathering old recipes that might have Lovage as an ingredient, and finding out all I can about this plant. If it is so strong in "wick", perhaps eating it will spread the "wick" into me!

Quick and Easy Recipe for Lovage Herb & Potato Soup
A hand-held blender makes pureed soup preparation and clean-up even faster.

Ingredients:

•1 medium onion, chopped
•2 Cups potatoes, peeled and chopped
•4 oz. spinach, washed, drained and chopped
•2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
•2 oz. fresh lovage leaves
•4 Cups chicken stock
•salt and freshly ground pepper
•a few fresh lovage leaves as garnish
Directions:

1.Saute the onion in butter over a moderate heat in a large saucepan
2.Add the potatoes and cook a few minutes longer
3.Add spinach and lovage leaves and saute a few minutes more
4.Add chicken stock
5.Simmer, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes
6.Puree soup in a food processor or with a hand-held blender
7.Add salt and pepper to taste and float a fresh lovage leaf on top
A splash of light cream or dollop of plain yogurt can be added to each bowl for a richer soup.

Our budding aspens

This is a photo I snapped early this morning of our aspens - three trees that we planted about 10 years ago. We are so proud of them. They have been through so much! Gale-force winds. Crazy blizzards. 20-degrees below zero temperatures. Moth and ant infestations. Yet, look how strong and healthy they look. They are about the ONLY plants we have that have been brave enough to set out some tender leaves. So far, the scrub-oak (which is also called Gamble Oak)plants remain bare, a few buds in sight, but none open - this is SO late for them that I'm sure another snow is coming our way. It's hard to believe on warm spring days like this.

The leaves on the aspens look golden simply because of the bright morning sun. How they shimmer and twinkle even in the spring. They also make welcome shade in the fall when the leaves are mature.

It is a common misperception that aspirin actually comes from the aspen tree, but that's a fallacy. Aspirin derives from the bark of the White Willow tree. Its botanical name is Salix Alba which contains Salicylic glycosides. It's healing use dates back thousands of years, and was discovered by the Native Americans. Just imagine how many other healing plants have yet to be discovered.

All over the neighborhood is the sound of lawn-mowers and the pungent smell of fresh-cut grass. Maybe we'll be cutting the grass soon, although our yard is determined to revert back to the meadow from which it came. We are thinking of allowing this to happen. Oh, I forgot about the dandelions. They, of course, have the temerity to be blooming with lush abandon. When they are the ONLY flowers you've got, you learn acceptance. Anyway, I've always liked the color yellow.

Open the windows!

Be like the flower, turn your faces to the sun.
- Kahlil Gibran

A perfect, sunny morning to you! I have these pictures on my blog today, not because they are pictures of my home, but because they are pictures of homes with many windows. How many windows do you have in your home? Do you keep them open or closed, with drapes open or drawn? You would be surprised how many people live in nice homes and NEVER open their windows, blinds or curtains! Even if a home is not in the most beautiful, perfectly tidy condition, it will look better in sun than in a fog. Closed-up homes bother me, both living in one, or visiting. It makes me wonder what people are hiding from. I don't know much about Feng Shui, but that must be a #1 rule: let the sun and air in, for heavens sake! Its like walking around with eyes closed all the time - you never know what might be missed, and besides, you'll bump into things. The air gets close, thick and fetid, like bad breath. It is said that there is more air pollution inside of the average American home, than in the air outdoors. Our homes need an airing from all the fumes produced by cleaning chemicals, aerosols, fragrances and cooking odors. Spring seems like a great time to open up while the earth is going green.

If the eyes are the window to the soul then the windows are the soul of a home! My family was lucky enough a few years ago to move into our own home. My first rule of thumb was that there be lots of windows. Yesterday, I counted them. I know, obviously too much time on my hands. We have 35 windows and that is counting the frames around the glass, not how many glass panels there are. One skylight and then one window to the sky; this is called a "cloistery" window. Presumably it was the kind of window used in cloisters or convents, designed so that light and sun could get in, but people could not look in, or nuns disturb their reveries by looking out upon the world. We have some pine trees too, but our home is not hidden in a forest, which we had considered, but the darkness would have prayed on my psyche. It's just depressing not to have enough light, both physiologically and psychologically. Think of all the depressed people out there who are heavily medicated. They might even be my neighbors, who live in nice homes, but always have their drapes drawn or at half mast. It's not very friendly.

Of course it is a bit of work to open up curtains each morning, as they just have to be shut again at night, a chore like making a bed. But night is the only time when windows really need to be covered. The pictures of undraped windows (above) would only be possible during the daylight hours and, at night, only if the homes are isolated and very private. Open curtains at night must also be bad Feng Shui, as the darkness, once again, is so depressing, unless of course there is a sparkling few of city lights in the distance.

While on the subject of light, it is much nicer to have accent lamps around a room, than just one overhead lightbulb shining down, don't you think? Those overheads make noses look so big! Oh, and don't get me started on fluorescent lighting - they "suck out all the juice from your eyeballs" as Joe said in the movie, Joe versus the Volcano. I believe it, for that is the next thing I did after moving into our home (though it took me a few years to save for it.) We replaced the nasty fluorescents in our kitchen. They made the food, and people, look green and unwholesome. Now there are spotlights shining down on food and chef - so much nicer - though they are more expensive and I am eating and cooking more - which arguably is not a good thing.

If you read my post yesterday about the eating habits of my 101 old grandmother, there was an important element to her habits that I overlooked: every morning as soon as she awakened, at least by 7:00 am, grandmother would go through her apartment and open all the draperies. The windows too, if it was warm enough. This can take a bit of muscle but it can become a morning calisthenic!

Do you fight with your mate, as I do, about sleeping with bedroom windows open or closed? Mine likes to be warm and cozy at night, i.e. windows tightly sealed. I like to have more air, and will actually enjoy hearing a dog, coyote, fox or even owl punctuate my slumbers. There is too much to miss if everything is shut up.

I think it is amusing that people will go to great pains to "get out in nature" by going camping each summer, while living most of their days behind closed windows and curtains. Another thing my grandmother always did, without fail, was, make her bed. That used to be the rule rather than the exception in the olden days, or at least with grandmother's crowd. She was adamant about doing so. If my bed was not made I was "slovenly". It seems like the only people who make their beds now are, folks who were in the military or went to boarding school, or grandmothers! Am I showing my age? Honestly, I try to make mine, but have not mastered the daily habit yet. But really, it only takes a few minutes, and I've noticed that having a freshly made bed to greet one enables one to relax and breath deeply at the end of the day. It looks better too. Your mate will appreciate it, too.

Well, I hope you get some light and fresh air today. I'm going to make my bed and open a few more windows now. Next on my "to do list" is getting all 35 windows washed, inside and out. They really need it, and no more procrastination! I'm going to do the interior windows and hire someone for the exterior.

One final thought about these holes in our houses. Did you ever think what an interesting word "WINDOW" is? I mean it's wind with an ow after it. I thought it might be French, like perhaps originally, windeaux, but no, it is an Anglosaxon word, direct and to the point, nothing romantic about it. It says what it means: an ow to let the wind (sun and light)through. Everyone needs some of those to be fully alive!

Live to be 101

Have you ever noticed that when you are feeling stressed, everything from computers to major appliances and automobiles start to break down? My computer is acting strange - cpu at 100%, and all I asked it to do was to go to my blogger dashboard! Now my turning lights aren't working on my car, we need a new water-heater ("You mean they're not good for 50 years?") and to top it all off, I forgot yesterday was wishcasting Wednesday and forgot to post my wish! I wonder if there is a penalty? Does an evil fairy come out of my computer to sprinkle me with evil fairy dust?

To give you an idea of what my life is like now, I went to the wishcasting Wednesday blog site (thinking today was Wednesday) and just then my step-dad comes marching out to have his "brunch". He looks at what I am doing on my computer, and says "Humph, that looks interesting..." I tell him I just went to somebody's blog site, and then, after studying the picture, says, "actually it looks kind of pornographic." So who needs an evil fairy?

Please look over at wishcasting wednesday and tell me I'm not engaged in looking at pornography. Yes, the fairy is wearing something that might be a bit skimpy for a fairy, but that is not the idea! It is difficult explaining to a 90 year old that it is perfectly wholesome, if he sees it as something more. All in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

Sigh. Yesterday was a special occasion and I needed to do cake baking and shopping as well as make a special dinner. That takes time! Especially when you have put things off.
We have a bit of a problem around here, concerning following an Ayurveda diet: my husband is a Pitta; I am a Kapha; my step-dad is a Vata. Finding a happy medium is challenging.

This morning was so nice in that I was finally able to get outside into some sun and vitamin D. At this altitude it doesn't take much. The birds were making lots of noise and I heard my favorite bird. I don't know what it is yet - it has a plaintive song that just consists of usually three or four notes either the same, or descending in pitch. It's not a mourning dove or an owl, but I can never locate the bird. It must be a ventriloquist.

Sun is so important to we humans. Actually there is a theory that sun deprivation in childhood might be linked to MS. I can see that, as I grew up in a northern latitude and my dad was a retired intellectual and my mom a musician - not pursuits that would take a child out of doors very much. But, I really can't believe that is the cause. Frankly, I believe it is related to the use of aspartame. You know that fake sugar that is put in diet sodas (which I used to have for dinner every night - not with dinner, but FOR dinner!)Now it is in so much more! Anyway, a few months of that and there I was, with MS. I just bring it up as a warning. The stuff is not made for human consumption. It should be off the market, not now added to baby-food!!

Speaking of food, it might be useful to tell the world what my grandmother ate - she lived to be 101. Though, I think her longevity was mostly due to her spirit and faith, her diet was one in which she ate and drank the things she liked most. First on the list for beverages, was grape juice and whole milk. She never touched coffee, tea, soda, or alcohol, or water, except to drink daily "hot water, with lemon, please" when ever she went out. Next, she loved Rice Krispies for breakfast and hot chocolate, which she made by hand, not from a mix. For lunch, I don't recall her ever eating anything, but dinner was a can of tamales or a fried piece of beef fillet and homemade french fries or macaroni and cheese. She always had a box of Stouffer's cremes (soft chocolates) on her desk and M&M's. Also with dinner she would often make herself a can of spinach on which she put vinegar. She never "excercised" a day but walked alot and never drove, to my knowledge. Furthermore, she never seemed to get stressed, and things never broke down around her. So, presumably if one eats and lives like this, and prays unceasingly, one will live to be 101! Oh, and her #1 rule was this: never go to a doctor!

I got a blogger award!

I received this blogger award. It is so encouraging for a beginner blogger such as myself, not sure if I deserve it. But I am proud of getting the hang of posting photos so I am making some progress. Thank-you, Athena!! Sometimes it's good to be reminded that life is good!

Missing: some red planetary rings.

My husband informed me just the other day that one of the planet's, he thinks it was Jupiter, has just done something unheard of: it has lost a band in one of it's rings! Not just any old band, but a band that has "always" been red! So...what can this mean? Why hasn't this been explored on the daily news, or if it was, why didn't I hear about it?

Since the world seems to be unconcerned that a planet has just, somehow, lost a piece of itself, or had a major part of itself "disappear", I would like to talk about planetary rings. Really, why not?

You may be thinking I'm a moron because everybody knows that Saturn is the only planet with rings, right? Well not so fast. Every large planet has them. We know more about Saturn's because they are seen more easily with a telescope. It's the largest planets that have them, because the sheer hugeness of their mass traps particles in thier orbit, from moons, to gasses, and other stuff. Probably Jupiter's rings are as big or bigger than Saturn's but they just seem smaller and somehow insignificant compared to the massiveness of Jupiter's size. Also Saturn's rings are made of ice and so, look brighter. Anyway this is the current scientific theory.I like to think there is more to it - an explanation of rings touched on the subject of "dark matter" being somehow involved in forming rings. Now this is interesting! If dark matter is involved in rings formation, it might be involved in their disappearance! That is exciting. But what exactly is "dark matter"? I think no one exactly knows...

Beginning of astrology lecture: I had heard that Saturn has the most rings because of Saturn's nature, the rings symbolising limits and containment and structure. So now that Jupiter's lost some, what can this mean, on a symbolic and global scale? And, a red ring, at that! Who knows?

The astrological world must certainly be abuzz with this news - sort of like they were when Pluto was voted against it's planetary "status". Overall this past blow to the astro community was dealt with in 1. disbelief and then 2. denial. It didn't change a thing! They all decided to take a vote. That didn't quite work. So basically it was determined that astrologers should act "as if" nothing had changed, and just press on, which we have been doing, like good little sheep. But it seems to me that by not coming to a clear verdict, a verdict was made none-the-less. Once again astrologers veer away from astronomers observations.

It is funny that Jupiter should lose a ring just as we start to leave the happy era of Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter, and start to enter Capricorn's realm. Now what would be really amazing would be if Saturn suddenly gained another ring, and a red one at that!
Sort of losing the energy of the collective unconsciousness to be placed on the ring of another planet's. An idea to ponder.

Okay. Tiring of not really knowing what I'm talking about, I checked the news releases from the website pertaining to the Hubble telescope. There is nothing on there about it! I may have started my own elephant story here, and this is how gossip gets started. If anyone knows about missing planetary rings, please let me know! And please see this site: http://www.naturalnews.com/028797_Saturn_hexagon.html

The world's astro forecast

My ephemeris in light and shadow. It's like a ribcage, or a scaffold, perhaps indicative of holding everything together in a symbolic way.

I'm reluctant to give astrological forecasts for friends and family, but I've been thinking about something my mother taught me about astrology: the location of the planet Pluto is the indicator of world events and eras. My mother was an astrologer in addition to being a musician, and astrology paid our bills when we moved to CA, before she built her musical career in our new hometown.

When she was teaching me the astrological arts, and told me about Pluto's influence on the world's collective psyche, I tuned out, only interested in how the planets were going to influence ME. I was about 16 at the time. I suppose my selfish focus, was natural for my age. But now that I'm older, I realize that the world's problems are my own. All of humanity is influenced, whether you want it or not.

Checking my ephemeris (the table of the planets daily sign positions)I see that Pluto is now in Capricorn. Interesting on a personal level, since I'm a Capricorn with Capricorn rising. This sort of brings Pluto closer into focus, you could say. A force to be reckoned with. Now the world will be facing Capricorn issues too. I am not alone.

Capricorn issues often read like a list of an evil fairy-godmother's hexes, or at least, traits that don't get one voted as most likely to succeed. Contraction, pessimism, conservatism, withdrawal, taskmaster, discipline, work, loss, melancholy. Yuck. It seems as if the world has dove deep into Capricorn already. People are fond of saying, "when the economy recovers..." Bad news: astrologically speaking, I do not believe the economy will ever go back to the way it was! (But this is a Capricorn speaking...)At least not in our lifetimes. Pluto is a distant planet so it stays a long time in each sign. This influences, and creates an "era".

A year ago we saw the end of the era of Pluto in Sagittarius. This may have been unusual for Sagittarians as life must have seemed "fated" or that "destiny" had intervened into their lives, never to be the same. Where Pluto's influence was most felt would be the house ruled by Sagittarius in your natal chart, or its opposing house, Gemini, respectively.

For the world, it went true to form for Sagittarius. All the upbeat Jupiter (ruling Sagittarius) buzzwords would apply: unparalleled growth, optimism, speculation, bigness, brightness, luck, expansion. Good stuff. They are the opposite of Capricorn's (ruled by Saturn) traits. The world had it good for a while. We may go down in history as the most runaway optimistic, richest, generation since the golden age of Egypt.

Now the world needs to get its bearings. It will probably take a while, and it certainly feels uncomfortable. Collectively the world needs to act like a Capricorn. Be cautious, patient, parsimonious, see if you can thrive on less, scale down, be disciplined, tighten our belts, downsize. Feels so different than our last era. What one could remember is that, Yogananda was a Capricorn, Howard Hughs, Elvis, maybe Jesus too. So its not all bad. Only if you want to live irresponsibly and like there is no tomorrow. Get it? Find what works and invest yourself heart and soul into seeing it through in a disciplined yogic way. Shopping sprees should go the way of the model-T or Thunderbird.

What is next for the world from Pluto's perspective? Aquarius: Revolution and overturning of the powers that be. To be followed by the Pisces era: universal love or the end of it all. Hopefully, as the world turns, the cycle will all start over when Pluto enters Aries: the pioneer and new beginnings.

Consider the past: before our big Saggitarian era, was the Scorpio era - the sexual revolution! No one has been the same since. These are not just bumps in the road but new turning points, a new direction. Exciting but scary. Change always is.

These are just thoughts to ponder...yet it sort of makes sense. Mom always is right.