corner view~view on my street

These days no matter which way we look, whether out the front door or the back door, we see skies like this.
Lately my street looks very open and optimistic, fresh with cooling rain and possibility.

corner view~home sweet home

Homemade apple pies, a welcome cloudy afternoon, a freshly painted new screen door, Annabel making red sauce, local rainbow in town, table set for guests, freshly squeezed limeaid with agave nectar, and Dario's painting reflected in Gary's piano, the sounds of the instrument echoing throughout our home.

These days, these are the signs of home.

corner view~on my wall

If my wall were a window I would hang this on it.  My husband got this for me as a Christmas gift a few years ago, a one of a kind mosaic square bowl made from pieces of stained glass, pottery, even a bottle cap.  Isn't it beautiful?

corner view~home

After several moves and subsequent years of reflection about the meaning and feeling and experience of what is home, I have come to this conclusion.

External home is not just a place, but also the people inside.  Those relationships and the memories we make.  The feeling of comfort and relaxation inside a dwelling.  Sharing meals, holidays, struggles, growth, laughter and tears.  Home is the love of family.

And being at home within oneself is perhaps the greatest task of all.  Somewhere in the silence of it all, I am home, no matter what the external circumstances.  A lofty goal, yes.  But I have had glimpses. 

corner view~on my kitchen counter

Our kitchen counter is a place where the kids as toddlers have stood on stools and watched me cook.  They have learned to measure, sift flour, crack eggs, and eventually chop food.  We have made all sorts of dinners -- pasta with fresh red sauce, gnocchi with homemade pesto, vegetable pie with fresh gravy, burritoes with homemade guacomole from our neighbor's trees, three layer enchilada pie, Chinese inspired stir fry with homemade garlic/ginger sauce, all sorts of Indian curries, homemade chai, and plenty of salads.  We make meats, fish, potato dishes, soups and casseroles.  We have baked cookies, made pancakes and waffles, pies, homemade pizza, cookies, sorbet (one time), and of course birthday cakes (my personal favorite).  All on one counter.   

This kitchen counter is a place where I admire goods from our garden.  I love picking fruits and vegetables from our yard, bringing them inside to the counter, and working a little magic to make them into delicious dishes to serve my family.

This year that love seems to have really caught hold of the children.  So I started what we are calling "Theresa's Cooking School."

A couple of nights ago Annabel asked me what the different levels in the school were.  We decided that there are five total.  Beginner, advanced beginner, intermediate, upper intermediate and master chef.  Annabel loves to know where she stands.  I told her confidently at dinner, "You are a solid intermediate."  She agreed with that assessment.

In Theresa's Cooking School being a solid intermediate means one can make a single dish, cooked and well spiced, by oneself.  Annabel has mastered curry tofu and a French bean dish.  But trust me folks, she is going for the master chef status. 

a good change

Shawn has his own room now.  Three weeks of construction and we are finished.  I'm soooo glad.

my garden 2 weeks ago

How happy my edible garden makes me.  I hope I always remember that, no matter where I live, no matter how old I am, how important it is for me to have an edible garden -- to water, prune, and love my plants.  I especially like to walk through my garden after watering in the morning and sample all of my herbs, and my arugula.  I planted arugula by seed and have tons of it.  We are just starting to get tomatoes now.  I am hoping for a bumper crop.  I thought maybe I planted too early, (October).  I was getting impatient, for the plants were huge and green and healthy looking for 2 months, but no fruit.

Even though the weather is warm year round here, "the plants still know it's winter," as a wise gardener friend pointed out to me once.  He was telling me how he was growing a tropical herb (tulsi), from seed, in Michigan, putting the tiny plants under lights indoors in his basement for the coldest part of winter.  Giving them two hours of TLC a day.  Now that's dedication.

Explanation of my photos:

#2 is thriving tulsi.  Tulsi is holy basil.  I talk about it a lot.  It is my favorite plant.  I am kind of obsessed with it.  I have about 20 tulsi plants in the ground, and another 20 I have started from seed in pots.  

It cracks me up when the kids are looking for me, and I overhear them say, "Where's Mom?  Oh, she's in her tulsi garden as usual." 

Hint: I noticed a month ago that the tulsi had an infestation of scale.  :(  I pruned the plants, painstakingly removed the remaining bugs, sprayed the plants with neem oil mixed with olive oil, and 90% of them are back and thriving, and bug free!  So worth my time.  Neem is great for bugs because it actually stops them from reproducing.  But you have to dilute it with 80 - 90% olive oil.

#4 is my first broccoli.  Can you believe how huge the broccoli plants are?

Organic home grown food is the best!  So good for us, our kids, the earth.  If you are considering starting a garden or wanting to begin composting, let me know and I will help you.  I have lived in many other climates, so I know a fair amount and can steer you in the right direction.  Plus, farming is in my blood.  All I can say is, it's so much fun, and great for the kids.  Have a great weekend.  I have something kind of fun to share with you all soon.  Suffice to say I have a new job that I love.

swami's visit part 1 - our home

We just spent the last week having a monk ("Swami," of the papaya dish) in our home.  He came to our neck of the woods to host two evening programs.  For us it was like a retreat from our busy life.  He came with a group of six people, all of whom stayed with us.  We knew some of the people, and others we met for the first time.  Every person who came was gracious and helpful, and we thoroughly enjoyed having them in our home. 

This is the third time we have hosted Swami, and everytime he comes it is such a special time.  There are lots of meals shared, walks on the beach, prayers and singing, laughter and love.  And stories.

Oh, and cooking.  Yes he made the papaya dish again, after hearing how much people have loved it.  We were picking the green fruits from a tree in my yard at 5 p.m. for a program that started at 5:45.  And guess what?  I have been leaving out an important ingredient.  Fresh grated coconut.  Just a tad.  I have to say, his dish was better than mine. 

After the program we fed a group of about forty people, there were many dishes to share, but the papaya dish was most people's favorite.  He grates the fruits by hand, not in the food processor, he uses a little less oil than I have, and cooks it for less time so the papaya is firmer.

During this visit the earthquake hit Haiti.  Swami will be going there with a team of doctors.

I think people who live a life of service and contemplation are good for the world.  It's good for all of us to be shown an example of love and compassion, patience, and humility.  Swami has a great teacher for that, no doubt.

This is where we will be sending our donations to help the people in Haiti.  The power of prayer is also not to be underestimated.            

corner view~corners of my home

This was so much fun, and I ended up capturing images of things in my home that inspire me.  Some of these photos are from my archives, but most were taken today.  I also included some of my artwork, in #'s 3 and 4.  Also, photo #12 ("act of kindness") was taken by my daughter, Sky, also a corner view participant.  In my group of images, I noticed a theme of angels and birds.  Must be something about the wings.

Now I get to come visit you all!  Have a wonderful week.  For more corner views of peoples' homes from around the world go to the sidebar here at spain daily.