Renewal

 By Maryanna Gabriel 

"Sometimes I only need to stand
where I am to be blessed."
- Mary Oliver

Going into the forest puts me in touch with what's important. Priorities reassert themselves when I'm  feeling as though I'm losing my way. There is a lovely walk at the end of the road where I live. I head into the quiet of the green and feel the reassurance of moss and fern. In silence, I hear. 

Today, I saw a little dormouse scamper into his wee house, a hole at the base of a tree. He perched there, his cute rounded ears attentive, watching me pass. Forest news worth noting.

With the world a-jumble, this is how I make the crooked places straight within. To show up where it feels right, to live one's best life, and leave the rest to Spirit. 

A Breath Of Fresh Air

 By Maryanna Gabriel


He was such a funny man. With buckets of courage, too. I am feeling a bit like Oscar Wilde when asked if he was writing. He replied that it was going very well. In the morning he put a comma in, and in the afternoon he had taken it out. Which kind of sums up my writing progress these days. 

Surely, a breath of fresh air would help. 

Feeling discouraged by an air freshener I had recently purchased online (do they pay people to review these things?) as the stench quite honestly made me gag. It reminded me of a maladorous penny candy from childhood. You know the kind. Those little packets that turned one's teeth and tongue into an agent orange colour and smelled like nothing natural on this planet. Well... after airing the house for a long time and at these frigid temperatures, I made up my mind.

My taste is low-key. One has to be subtle. So I made my own. It's perfect. I love it. Totally gag-proof. Here is what I did if you need a breath of fresh air too. You can see there is room for your own creative modifications.  

Maryanna's Breath Of Fresh Air

1/4 c boiled water

a cut up half a vanilla bean

tsp vanilla 

lemon peel 
a few sprigs of lavender

2 tbsp vodka 

Let sit for 24 hours. Strain. Add vodka to the strained solution.
 Pour into the spray bottle.
Hear the bluebirds sing. 

Hear the bluebirds sing. 

A Bit About Cookies

 By Maryanna Gabriel 

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,

it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,

it was the epoch of incredulity,

it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness,

it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair..."
- A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

Last night, a wind started up as it sometimes does in this little valley. The next thing I knew there was profound crack. I leapt out of bed. Someone  had a flashlight in the night flickering through the forest investigating the matter. They were joined by another bobbling light. For a while I worried it was my fence. Well, it wasn't. This morning when I got up I could see that an enormous fir had toppled, fortunately away from my house and narrowly missing the neighbour's shed. It's all a bit of a tizz, what with world events, and trying to monitor one's news intake, to boot.

Remember when the word cookie used to mean the kind you ate? To remain calm, I made my favourites, a healthy recipe which comes from Sicily. These are quick to prepare and a little on the exotic side, my perfect way to take in morning tumbles with a coffee. 

Calming Sicily Cookies

1 c. ground pistachios (I used pumpkin seeds and it worked perfectly)

1 c. almond flour

1/2 c. icing sugar

1 egg

zest of one lemon

Shape into tiny logs one inch long.
Traditionally these are pinched in the center like bow ties.
 Bake at 350 degrees for ten (or so) minutes until golden on the bottom.