Did you see the moon last night? It was full and closer to the earth than it has been for 15 years. Read more. If you didn't see it last night, get yourself outdoors tonight. It is spectacular! 
Isn't this cute? I made it recently, from a flour sack towel (thanks, NM Tea Lover!). Flour sack towels are my fave. I love how they don't get full of lint and how they dry quickly. 
This is a repeat post from a few years ago, but I have new blog friends and wanted to share it again. Enjoy!
The DH and I took a class on lactofermentation and we recently made our own sauerkraut, the old-fashioned way. Lactofermentation uses no heat. It relies on naturally-present bacteria to break down the food and provide probiotics. Lactofermented foods are good for you like yogurt and other "live" foods. The kraut tastes tangy, slightly salty, and is such a pretty color! I've seen red cabbage used, as well, for a lovely pink hue. Next up, I hope to make some kimchi and try kombucha.
Step 2: Crush the salt, if it's not in small particles. It's important to use natural salts that don't have additives. (Hand modeling by the DH.) We used 2 tablespoons of salt. The recipe called for between 1 and two tablespoons. Next time, I'll use a bit less.
Step 3: Toss in the salt, and "tamp" the cabbage. Yes, tamp is a technical term. It means beat the heck out of the stuff. You can see here we are using a pasta measuring device for its flat bottom. Tamping starts the cabbage along its journey, and in combination with the salt, releases the juices. Tamp until the cabbage looks shiny, or lightly cooked.
Step 4: Place into jars (or, traditionally, a crock) and tamp some more. You need to ensure all the cabbage is below a layer of juice.
Endings: I took yesterday off from blogging, as a reward for successfully completing NaBloPoMo, where I blogged every day for a month. It's fun and it's tough! My hat is off to those of you who do so regularly. I'm a frequent blogger, but I like to be able to take some days off, too. And to those of you who did NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), may you be published!
Studio 502, the name of our art studio (aka home), coined by the DH. He had this on our kitchen chalkboard when I came home from a work trip, on which I had a creative epiphany. I took the photo without a flash in low light, and thus the blurriness, but I like the effect.
Since the house planning is of prime importance, I don't want to interrupt his creative mess here. So instead I've made several creative stations. Here's one - my holiday card-making station, on the floor in my office.
And this doesn't include pictures of our plant nursery (one window, floor to ceiling shelves, with baby plants) or the bicycle museum (which is fluid and moving OUT into circulation in the world! I know it is, even if I can't see it at the moment).
I took a look around me and realized that I don't need to wait for the perfect space to begin projects. I'm already doing them. So I'm now choosing to see the house as a dynamic space that morphs itself into the space we need. There are times to be neat and tidy - and then there are times to be knee-deep in creative messes. We are in the latter at the moment, and instead of getting frustrated or overwhelmed, I am choosing to see it as vibrant and alive. :-) If I can have one area of our home that is under control, my refuge, I am OK. This would be our bedroom and my tea corner. The rest of the house can ebb and flow, and lead to wonderful creations.
My tea cozy corner, where I sat for the virtual tea party
Take three good friends in three timezones, a leisurely afternoon, 3 good cups of tea, a treat or two or three, and season with the magic of technology. You've got the makings for a great virtual tea party! By virtual, I mean over the phone.
I enjoyed such an event last Friday evening. I had a conference call with two of my dear Western Skies friends. We each held a cup of tea and we spent the hour sipping and chatting. It was very fun and connecting. I highly recommend it! Next time, we plan to give Skype a try with some video conferencing, too! Wouldn't it be fun to SEE the mug or cup and saucer your friend is using, along with her lovely face?
"The traditional use of the tea for treating cough may be explained, in part, by its content of pinitol, a modified sugar that is similar to inositol. Pinitol, named for its major source, pine trees, is also found in the leaves of several legume plants; it is an expectorant." Read more here.
"Like Swing dance, Blues dance originated and evolved from African rhythms and movements. However, Blues dancing was never widely practiced as a "social" or performance dance in the United States outside of the Black communities; so it developed and thrived in smoky juke joints and at Blues house parties and rent parties, giving it a more intimate feel." Read more here.
Yerba mate is a South American evergreen shrub that is used as an herb. The leaves and twigs are used to make an infusion that is consumed in several countries, including in Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Most mate infusions are made from green mate, but you will sometimes find a roasted variety. Sometimes people add milk and sweeteners. It's a common practice to drink mate from a hollowed gourd (sometimes covered with metal) through a metal bombilla (straw). It's a social drink often shared with friends. 
