Difficult difficult day...

Today, about two hours before my beloved Shetland Sheepdog mix, N, passed away, I heard my grandmother's voice distinctly tell me, "I will take care of her."

Thank you Grandma for bringing me peace. Thank you N, for being my precious friend. I love you both forever.

Grandma

My Grandmother passed away two weeks ago. I love her. I miss her so much.

My Son's Favorite Crystals

I put a bunch of crystals from our collection on the bed the other day. I spread them out in front of my son, who was on our mattress, playing. He chose three crystals, Amethyst, Garnet, and Mookaite. My little cutie. ♥

Blue Lace Agate and Rose Quartz

Are the crystals I've been putting under my pillow this week.

Oh yeah, and I've lost 9.5 kilo. I started my weight loss journey @ the end of December. I feel good. Lighter. More energetic. Yay! My current favorite breakfast food was inspired by my cousin. It's baked apples. I take Red Delicious apples, cut them in half, take out the seeds and place them in a glass baking dish. Then I sprinkle them with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. I put them face down and pour about a cup of water around them. I put them in the oven @ 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes. They come out really yummy. They're also a very healthy snack.

I wish everyone good health.

Randomness

I haven't had a cup of coffee in an entire week.

I saw a crack in the sidewalk that looked exactly like a whale.

My son's new favorite food is t'china (tahini, techina, I suppose the transliterations can be endless).

I can feel hints of spring in the air.

Winter Soup Recipe

Dedication:
To anyone who is reading this, with love, The Wandering Cartographer

Please pardon any formatting issues or lack of respect for alphabetical order.
♥

Ingredients:

Pinto Beans (1/3rd of a bag)
Kidney Beans (1/3rd of a bag)
Lima Beans or Navy Beans or whatever was on sale :) (1/3rd of a bag)
Barley (1 to 1 and a ½ cups)
4 bay leaves
1 large onion
6 cloves of garlic
4-5 *organic carrots (give or take, depending on their size)
6-8 stalks of *organic celery (give or take again, I’ve noticed organic celery tends to be smaller than regular celery)
Sea salt (whatever you deem to be an appropriate amount)
Black Pepper (tablespoon)
Paprika (tablespoon)
Cayenne Pepper/Chili Pepper (whatever you feel you and your guests can handle :) )
Tomato Paste (5 tablespoons)
Olive Oil (3 table spoons)
*Cabbage (organic, ½ a head)
Zucchini (optional)

*I am not at the point where all my groceries are organic. I am NO expert on the Food Industry, however, I have read that it’s particularly recommended that the aforementioned vegetables be as chemical free as possible, as they are especially susceptible to soaking up funky stuff from soil.

Directions:

Boil a big pot of water.
When it’s reached a rolling boil, add in beans.
Add Salt.
I usually let the beans boil alone with the salt for about 15 minutes. It works out perfectly, cause that’s how long it generally takes me to dice up all the veggies.
Add all vegetables except for the cabbage.
Add in tomato paste.
Add olive oil, bay leaves and other spices.
Add barley.
Mix with a large spoon.
Cook uncovered. (I always cook my soups uncovered and continually revisit them adding boiling water every 20 minutes or so. I find that it intensifies the flavor.)
After about an hour of it boiling together, add in as much cabbage as the pot permits.
Boil for another two –three hours.
Enjoy your soup. :)

Raw

I just got upset because I thought I had cracked another one of our glasses. Turns out it was soap that resembled a fracture as I scrubbed dishes in the sink. Smooth. I would like to re-watch the documentary I saw about The Buddha last week.