Good Morning!

Meatless Monday

SQUASH AND CHICKPEA MOROCCAN STEW

(Perfect for Meatless Monday)

From the November 2011 Issue of Yoga Journal Magazine

Makes 4 Servings (Their idea of a serving must be HUGE!))

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, small dice

4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

2 cups vegetable broth

1 pound butternut squash, peeled and large dice

3/4 pound red potatoes, large dice

2 cups drained, cooked chickpeas

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices

Pinch saffron, optional

1/2 preserved lemon, finely chopped

1 cup brined green olives, preferably Cerignola

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, cumin, and cinnamon. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the broth, squash, potatoes, chickpeas, tomatoes, and saffron (if using). Season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the squash is fork tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the preserved lemon and olives.

3. Serve over couscous and garnish with fresh cilantro, toasted almonds, and plain yogurt.

Now -- for the changes I made! I had two very small butternut squash. I didn't use anything from the saffron down. I used ground cinnamon since I didn't have a cinnamon stick; a can of tomatoes with chile (Rotel) and a can of chickpeas (Goya). In other words, I used just what I had or made do with something else. I didn't have any potatoes. I served it over couscous and didn't do any garnish. It was delicious. I have enough for several more meals.

I'm joining On The Menu Monday.

Wishing YOU well and a joy filled day!

Oh! One more thing. I could stay at Poppytalk all day ... every day. Oh, My!

Cranberry Pink

I decided that Cranberry is Pink!

I love hobnail and I love cranberry glass.

No one does it better than Fenton.

I had the hots for gerbera daisies last week.

Hot Pink Is Good!

A little old-fashioned glamour! 

I'm joining Beverly for Pink Saturday.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Good Morning! Giggle!

Synchronicity!

I was reading my favorite blogs this morning and found this at Tiny Buddha.

It fits so well with GIGGLE -- I had to share!

HOW TO HAVE FUN LIKE CHILDREN: 15 JOYFUL TIPS

Editor’s Note: This is a contribution by Nat Nanton

“If it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right.” ~Bob Basso

Every morning my daughter and I go for a twenty-minute walk to my workplace. For me, in those twenty minutes, I’m in transit. For my toddler, it’s nothing less than a parade of flowers, fire trucks, pebbles, and friendly folk.

I walk alongside her, engrossed in my thoughts of concern that her bouncing body might fall down the stairs, or jump onto incoming traffic.

One morning, I noticed that a sweet old man, amused by my toddler, was watching her with a smile on his face. As we crossed his path, he chuckled to himself, “Children have all the fun!”

He’s right. They do. And clearly, I’m missing out! My age is no good reason for me to miss out on this street party! 

Now, I try to remember that fun is a perspective. It’s not a force bound within the walls of amusement parks. The days that I remember this, it makes all the difference.

Line-ups are a great way to make new friends. Dusting is a contemporary dance. My world is a playground.

We are born with a complete understanding of fun, which seems to fade over time and conditioning. I say we learn a thing, or 15, from children.

HOW TO PUT FUN INTO EVERY DAY

1. Be where you are.

Kids are really good at enjoying the moment. Adults are addicted to thinking about all the things we have to do tonight, tomorrow, next week. Where you are is where the fun is. Nowhere else.

2. Learn something new.

From new words to new facial expressions, kids are constantly mastering new skills. Make it a point to continuously be learning something, anything. Aren’t we the ones who tell our kids that “learning is fun”?

3. Get out of your comfort zone.

Toddlers take risks all day long. As we mature, we tend to stay in our safe place. Your day will be so much more exciting if you gather the guts to wear hot pink pants.

4. Find the beat.

While adults would find a car alarm loud and obnoxious, my daughter dances to the rhythm of the beat. Seek out the symphony in the background noise.

5. Smile 27 times more than you do.

I’ve heard that children smile 400 times a day and adults, only 15. Smiling is the catalyst to having fun.

6. Notice nature.

Every child is in awe of ants, birds, and dandelions. At some point, we become creatures of the concrete jungle. Allow yourself to be enamored by Mother Nature.

7. Climb things.

As soon as they discover their legs, kids start climbing everything. There is something about being above ground level that is somewhat thrilling. Climb a rock. Climb a tree. You’ll feel like the master of the universe.

8. Embrace your “flaws.”

Being self-conscious is stifling. My toddler brings more attention to her Buddha belly than I ever would. But she also has more fun.

9. Use your imagination.

A child can get lost in her make-believe world for hours. Imagine riding an elephant in Thailand. Or running a marathon on the Great Wall of China. You’ll have so much fun pretending that you might want to make it a reality—which leads to more fun than you can imagine.

10. Be unpredictable.

There is no knowing what a kid will get up to next. Step out of your ordinary routine and you’ll be surprised at how liberated you’ll feel.

11. Hand out high-fives.

For no reason at all, kids hand out high-fives like they just won gold at the Olympics. Next time you hear some good news, give somebody a high-five. It feels good to get pumped about the little things.

12. Slow down.

Children know how to take their sweet time. Allow yourself enough time to enjoy living. Rushing sucks all the fun out of the day.

13. Create.

Paint, draw, build, write. Kids clearly enjoy those activities. Fun is being in your creative element.

14. Get dirty.

Kids aren’t afraid to experience life hands on. Get right in there. Make sandcastles. Turn up a log.

15. Break the rules.

Fun doesn’t follow all the rules. Neither do kids. If it doesn’t hurt, go for it! Leave those pretty Christmas lights up year-round.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

A Soul HIdden In Everything

“How it is that animals understand things I do not know, but it is certain that they do understand. Perhaps there is a language which is not made of words and everything in the world understands it. Perhaps there is a soul hidden in everything and it can always speak, without even making a sound, to another soul.”  - Frances Hodgson Burnett (from A Little Princess)

Around Town

Around town was so much fun last week that I decided to do it again!

1. Classic Ford Auto, 2. Mirror Sculpture, 3. Japanese Garden, 4. Rooster

1. Bronze Barn Owl, 2. Whistling Ducks, 3. Red Heart Dresses, 4. Purple Iris

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Thank you to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday

and the wonderful hosts of Our World.

Dear Old Golden Rule Days

 Playground gymnasts, Irwinville, Georgia, 1938. Photograph by John Vachon From the GAL PALS Postcard Collection

How about some fun before the classes start?

"School days, school days


Dear old golden rule days


Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic


Taught to the tune of the hickory stick"

(Music by Gus Edwards |  Lyrics by Will D. Cobb (1907)

It is tax free weekend here.

The stores will be filled with back to school shoppers.

I'm staying home!

Thank you to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Good Morning!

From the winter 2007 edition of Tricycle.

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Big Purrs

It's time for a favorite Blog Land party:

Vee's Note Card Party.

We are to share 4 photos with you that have been previously published on our blogs

that we think would make good note cards.

You all know how I love the Houston Zoo.

Here are some my favorite BIG PURRS that I've shared with you before.

Cheetah

Pandu - Malayan Tiger

Johnathan - King of Beasts

Cali and Johnny

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Around The Town

A Look Around Houston

1. Mushroom, 2. Glassell School of Art, 3. Rolled Steel, 4. Train in Hermann Park

1. Zoo Entrance, 2. Surls Sculpture, 3. Lee & Joe Jamail Plaza, 4. Sculpture in the Garden

Thank you to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday

and the hosts of Our World.

A World of Imagination

Postcard titled Shell. Photographed by Edward Weston, 1927.

"To find a seashell is to discover a world of imagination."

Michelle Held



Thank you to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Good Morning: Fall Seven Times

Butterfly Kiss

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun


And find your shoulder to light on,


To bring you luck, happiness and riches


Today, tomorrow and beyond.


~Irish Blessing

Japanese Garden

"Photography is not like painting. There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."

~Henri Cartier-Bresson

Pink Zinnia

Thank you to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.

If I Hide, Will They See Me?

If I hide behind the flowers, do you think they will see me?

Thank you to Misty for hosting Camera Critters each week.

The White Iris

Thank you to the lovely Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Postcard titled The White Iris. Photograhed by Edward Weston, 1921. In a book of 30 postcards by Taschen. Few photographers created a legacy as diverse as that of the American Edward Weston (1886-1958). At the outset of his career, Weston worked successfully with painterly soft-focus techniques, but a decade later became the pioneer of a precise, sharp style of presentation dubbed "Straight Photography". 

Good Morning!

Blooming In Musashi's Garden

Zinnia Blooming In Musashi's Garden