Friday, March 9, 2012

bird angels in Maine to palm trees in Florida

                                                                                                                                                       bird angels

What a week ... I feel a change in the weather ... from a spring snow that brought the birds flocking to the bird feeder, to beautiful sun-filled 60 degree days and my first views of blooming crocuses and snowdrops.

                                                                                                                             ...so many tracks in the snow

                                                                                                                                           kitchen snowflakes


I've been cooking lots of healthy foods these past weeks, still enjoying and being inspired by Heather's workshop at Whole Food Kitchen.
 It's hard to describe the change I've been experiencing as I eat more delicious, life giving foods. It's a bit like watering a plant that hasn't had a good dose of water in awhile, you see the leaves start to unfurl and come back to life, standing strong again ... that's how I'm feeling!


                                                                                                                                              salad and khichuri
                                                                                                             falafel, salad and tahini/lemon sauce
                                                                                                                                         coconut milk quinoa
                                                                                                                                 roasting nuts and seeds
                                                                                                                                                      lovely peels                 
                                                                                                                                                          fruit salad
                                                                                                  breakfast quinoa with fruit, nuts and seeds
                                                                                                                       gluten-free blueberry seed cake                                                
Well, you see that I've been keeping busy in the kitchen this week!
In other ways I've been busy as well ... enjoying the beautiful art of Angie Lewin , and always with music I love in the background. 
Last, but not least, I'm planning a little break from winter to visit my sister in Florida! This is not something I do regularly, it's kind of a big deal I'd say!
I'll be away for two whole weeks of sunshine, fresh food and good company! Looking forward to posting about my trip when I return. See you at the end of the month! Enjoy!

                                                                                                                                         from Cathy's iphone

Friday, March 2, 2012

Thrifting...


Living in the countryside is a joy, but as anyone who is familiar with country life knows, you have to make your trips to town count when you venture out. These days I try to conserve fuel and time by running as many errands as I can while there. I shop at the food coop and grocery store, drop off the books at the library, fuel up at the gas station and do whatever else is pending that day ... sometimes I  still have a little time left for something fun, like thrifting! 
Let's be honest here, sometimes I even do the thrifting first, depending on my mood and the urgency of things.
 We have a few good thrift shops in our area and they are well maintained and well attended as a result. On the day I was in Camden, I visited a shop called Heavenly Threads. It is located in a large, white, clapboarded house that was  built during the 1800's and that once housed the minister from the church nearby. 
As long as I have been visiting this shop it has been on the first floor of the house. You'd pass a marvelous, old staircase when you entered the front hall, but it was closed off and the upper level was off limits to customers.  I was so excited when I entered the shop the other day and noticed that the second floor was now open to the public! I had always longed to climb those stairs, you see I'm truly in love with older houses and their beautiful and sometimes quirky features. I climbed the stairs and was not disappointed!






A lovely, old room ... though a little hard to see behind the many treasures you see here. I did manage to find something special to take home with me.


I instantly had visions of Chocolate Pots de Creme when I saw these!  This recipe from a lovely food blog made my vision come true, and though I didn't add the coffee or espresso, it was rich and delicious.  Yes, you MUST take advantage of those trips into town!