Arbitrary Adventures

For years I have wanted a record player.  I have bought records, even though I had no way to listen to them.  Why?  Why not?!?  I love music in all it’s forms.  Vinyl is just another form to listen and experience all music.  Digital music has a pristine sheen to it, vinyl music has a depth and grit to it that gives it a new life.  Live music has the passion and energy that cannot be captured.  If you are passionate about music, then discovering your favorite songs again in a new medium is an intoxicating feeling.  

So now I have my record player and my very modest library of vinyls.  Now the new task of collecting records begins.  Old records, new vinyls, it doesn’t matter, it is all there for my consumption.  My hope is to find records I know, maybe some old rock, but also to discover some really fun new stuff.  I never expected that my request for a record player to play what I already own would ignite a new passion to discover new music.  

I encourage everyone to discover new music, whether it is familiar but presented in a new way, or something you have never listened to.  Get out of the mainstream rut that the local stations feed you.  They won’t all be gems, but guaranteed you find something that gets your heart pumping.  

I know it’s been a while. A full year actually.  My absence was not rooted in boredom or loss of interest, but instead in a lack of inspiration.  The last year was one full of changes.  Some I was prepared for, others I was not.  Moving cities unexpectedly, and frankly undesirably, was much more difficult mentally and emotionally than I had anticipated. Throw that in with several other big changes and you have the makings of a breakdown, or in my case a retreat from the world.  This withdrawal was accompanied by a loss of ability to see inspiration in the new things I was experiencing.  While I haven’t forgotten that I committed to share those things of interest, I wasn’t sure that I, nor anyone else for that matter, cared anymore.  It wasn’t the story I set out to tell.  That, however, does not make it any less of a story.  It is my story, and I am seeing and experiencing new things.  I am, slowly, attempting to embrace the changes that have been placed in my path.  I am hoping to see and do more, share more, and most of all, enjoy more!  This is not a New Year’s resolution, more of a new outlook.  Stay tuned…

I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions.  I like the idea of them, a reason to try and make an impacting change on something you aren't happy with in your own life.  Kind of a line in the sand as such.  I think the problem is that we expect an element of magic to occur.  It's as if we think that a simple date change will somehow give us more will, determination or restraint (depending on your own personal resolution).  However, it often just ends up not being enough. So rather than make a resolution I am choosing this year to make a declaration.  Instead of focusing on what I don't like about my life, I want to focus on some positive messages that I think we all can use reminding of.  Maybe this simple change of focus will inspire the changes I think of as traditional resolutions, but with an undertone of love and compassion for myself, rather than judgement and negativity. 

Here are a few things that I think are important for me, and I suspect I'm not the only one that needs to hear these from time to time. 

- You are important - guaranteed if you ask around, you'll find out just how important you are to the people in your life

- You are stronger than you think you are

- You can achieve anything you set your heart and mind on

- You are enough - never let anyone tell you otherwise

- You are/can... fill in your own positive personal mantra and MAKE IT COUNT!

So with that in mind, I think this is a fitting quote to ring in the New Year!

"What the New Year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the New Year" - Vern McLellan 

One of my very favorite things about Autumn is the fresh apple cider.  I don't mean the abundance of hard ciders that seem to be showing up everywhere, although those are enjoyable.  I mean the sweet/tart cloudy apple cider that you only get by using a press to grind and press those cool weather gems until every last drop of goodness is drained from them. 

Growing up, my family lived on a small rural lot of land.  When we moved into the house, there were already quite a few apple trees, along with other orchard trees on the property.  My parents had dreams of growing their own fruits and vegetables and quickly dug out a huge garden bed and planted even more orchard trees.   Then I remember my dad ordering a cider press out of an Amish catalog.  At the time I had no idea why he needed to have it.  But then it happened, the boxes of cedar wood and steel showed up and he and I put that little cider press together.  The next fall we went out, collected apples from different trees to get just the right mix, and we made homemade cider.  It was the best thing I had EVER tasted.  After that, it was my new favorite thing.  Every year I would wait for the first frost, which was nature's alarm clock telling us it was time!  

After I moved away, I did really get much opportunity to have apple cider much.  It wasn't really available where I was.  Then my husband and I moved to Michigan.  I learned that huge cider mills were an Autumn mainstay for the East coast, along with fresh cake donuts.  I fell in love with the whole experience of cider mills all over again.  And introduced them to everyone that came to visit while they were open.  

Last year we moved to the Pacific Northwest and were surprised to find that cider mills were not more popular here.  What with Washington Apples and all, you'd think there would be one in every town.  But alas, they are not.  Not to be deterred, I did my research and found one that had great reviews and seemed to be most like the cider mills of the East.  It was over and hour drive for us, but we decided to give it a go.  Off to Olympia we went to visit Lattin's Cider Mill, and boy was it worth it.  The cider was amazing.  We had the warm spiced cider while we were there, and picked up a 1/2 gallon jug of regular apple cider to bring home.  They had other flavors of cider, but I'm really more of a purist and like my cider a bit more traditional.  They also make fresh apple fritters right behind the registers.  They were AMAZING!!  Not even an overstatement, seriously... if you can make your way there, TRY ONE!  

In addition to the traditional cider mill treats, they also had a really cool pick your own pumpkin patch with all sorts of sizes and types of pumpkins.  They also had a whole bunch of farm animals that you could feed or just have a peek at.  Really great for families who want to take their kids to do something fun and interesting.  The whole place was really clean feeling and animals all looked really healthy and active.  

So in closing, I guess I want to give a high recommendation for anyone in the Pacific Northwest to make their way to Lattin's Cider Mill.  If you don't live close enough to visit, see if you can find a local mill near you and give it a shot.  Usually they are locally owned and operated, so you'd be supporting a local family.  And if you ever get a chance to make your own using a little Amish cider press, then absolutely take that opportunity.  However you can, make fresh cider a new Fall tradition! 

4 Paws for Ability is an animal charity providing dogs to people with disabilities. Learn how to support this chairty and shop for a cause at Sevenly.org!

Sevenly is a great organization that rotate their nominated charity each week.   While each and every charity are doing great things, I hope to share a few that I feel exceptionally strong about.  However, I strongly urge everyone to check out Sevenly each week and find what charity speaks to you.  

This week's charity is 4 Paws for Ability.  In very simple terms, they train dogs to help those with disabilities of all types, from sight impairments, to seizure detection and even helping people with social disorders like Autism spectrum disorder.  Many people don't even realize how much a trained dog can help people dealing with these disabilities.  

A few years ago a good friend introduced me to this fantastic product by Aveda called Blue Oil Balancing Concentrate. I seem to carry a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders, (I know.. who doesn't these days!), and suffer from chronic migraines/tension headaches.  So I end up with quite a lot of aches and pains in my shoulders and neck.  This has since become one of my favorite must-haves!

I've honestly tried a lot of different things, and get some effect from quite a few.  But this is my go to, particularly on those migraine days.  It's like a little miracle in a bottle.  It IS in fact blue, well a violet blue really.  The Aveda website states that it contains peppermint and blue chamomile and is used to "calm the body and mind, relax the scalp and ease tired muscles".  Perfect, right?  But wait, how does it do that?

The peppermint oil helps numb the sore spots, it kind of feels like a cool tingling effect where it is applied.  The blue chamomile oil, or often called German chamomile, is also a natural anti-inflammatory, anti-sposmatic and relaxant, which aids in relieving not only the symptoms of a migraine, but often some of the causes. 

In addition to the actual application benefits, I personally find that taking a couple nice deep breaths of it in through my nose helps open up my nasal passages and increase my oxygen flow.  It's really quite a pleasant scent, allowing it to do it's job of calming the mind and body, which is sometimes key in fighting one of those nasty migraines. 

Blue oil comes in a small glass bottle with a little roller ball, which makes it easy to apply without overdoing it. This is also a good way to massage the oil in, especially if you're looking to use it on pressure points. 

It can be a little expensive ($18.00 for .24 fl.oz), but don't be put off by that.  You really don't use much at a time.  I can usually get 12 - 18 months out of one little bottle.  Or, add it to your gift list for a birthday or holiday gift. :) 

Today we took a friend to the Seattle Center. The obvious destination was the Space Needle, but after we saw the line, and then the price, we decided maybe we'd save it for another day.  Then the Chihuly Garden & Glass exhibit caught our eye, so we checked the price, it was about half the price to get in, and not as busy.  Easy decision. 

All I can say is, it is truly beautiful and amazing.  I think it might go overlooked, sitting there in the shadow of the Space Needle there.  But trust me, it's so worth the price of admission.  

The pieces are made of the most vibrant colors of glass you could imagine.  Everything from a sea themed sculpture that fills the center of a room, to gorgeous chandeliers, to simple garden spears, every room and every turn is something awe-inspiring.  Oh, and still some great views of the Space Needle. 

I love a nap.  It is one of my (almost) daily rituals.  I wasn't always this way.  As a child, I wouldn't even stay in my crib for a nap.  As soon as I learned to walk, I learned to climb right on out of that crib. In pre-school and kindergarden I would spend nap time daydreaming, and often got myself into trouble acting out some of my daydreams. 

Fast forward a couple decades and I am now an avid napper.  When I worked out of the house, it used to be my weekend indulgence.  But now I work from home, and my hours allow me to nap just about every afternoon, for now.  And I'm taking advantage while I can.  Some days I nap for about 20 minutes or so, other days it's 1.5 hours.  I used to feel bad losing so much of my day, but then I realized that I actually felt better after, had more energy and felt like I had been reset to enjoy my afternoon and evening. 

I recently read an article outlining how good napping can be for you, how it can reduce stress, crankiness and even promote energy, creativity and learning retention.  I can absolutely vouch for each of these benefits.  

The Chicken Runs at Midnight

I was watching the Mariners vs Detroit baseball game on Sunday, and one of the commentators started talking about Rich Donnelly, the Mariner's 3rd base coach.  He was talking about what a wonderful coach and man he is, and about a story that was just heartbreaking, but everyone should read.  He suggested it was worth Googling 'The Chicken Runs at Midnight'.  Having no idea what it was about, but loving a good inspirational story, I decided to check it out. 

Before I was half way through reading the story, I had tears streaming down my face.  It is one of the most touching, inspirational stories about a man, he beloved daughter and the love of baseball.

A beautiful flower for the garden, packed with the hidden power of healing.  

With modern medicine, we have changed our focus away from the many healing options that Mother Earth has been providing for centuries.  My hope with some of my blog posts is to simply share some new ways to approach some common ailments that I have found useful myself.  I'm not claiming to be a doctor, so please always make the appropriate choices for yourself, and where necessary, check with your physician to check that the therapies will safely interact with any medications you may be taking. 

Now, back to the topic at hand, Calendula. For many years I have kept a tube of Calendula Cream in my medicine cabinet.  It's a natural, or also know as homeopathic, first aid cream.  The tube itself suggests that it's good for chafing, scrapes, burns and skin irritations.  I use it for all of these things and more. It has no real odor to speak of, and applies just like a lotion.  

I recently read an article that outlined all the great things it can do, as well as how to make your own remedies with home grown dried calendula.  Anyone interested in learning more about the powerful uses of this gentle giant should take a couple minutes and check out this really great article from Natural News.