The Best Exotic Marigold Tea Recipe

August, for me (aside from watching films about pensioners moving to India), has been all about tracking down the best tea recipe to put all of my fresh summer 

marigolds to work.  I came up a little shorthanded ... Apparently, something my great-grandmother would have considered common knowledge is now somehow one of the great mysteries of the known universe.  The only natural method that I could find (that did not include drying the flowers in a microwave, of all things), or one having any sort of resemblance to a recipe was for an antiseptic tincture that I adapted for tea-time:

New Moon in Leo Mandala from the High Vibe Guide

• 1-2 Cups rinsed Marigold petals (snipped right above the green calyx that holds the petals on the stem).
• 4 Cups boiling water.
• Combine in French Press and steep until a rich, golden-red color appears, or combine in another suitable container, and strain to serve.

Sweeten with your desired sweetener if you're into that sort of thing (mine happens to be a pinch of Stevia).

That's it!

The taste is somewhat reminiscent of a dandelion tea, not exact, but the same kind of "body" is what you can expect.  This has definitely turned into a new favorite, and don't be timid, the more aggressively you snip the blooms from a marigold plant, the more it responds all summer long -- well into October (which makes sense with it being the "birth flower" for that month), and even into a very wet November last year around my neck of the woods.  Hopefully, by then I'll have my instructions perfected for drying & storing the petals in order to enjoy the tea throughout the chilly, hibernation months.  Until then ... Enjoy!

The Amazing Technicolor Dreamsalad

It's Summer!  Around here, that means an abundance of fresh, home-grown, leafy goodness to munch on.  I love having a garden to pluck from, and in the PNW you can pretty well manage this year round with a little research of what to plant when, even without cold boxes.  But what can you do if you're short on space?  Even in an apartment with a deck the size of a thimble, and a sliver of sunlight you can grow things to brighten up your meals.  Sometimes all you need is a sunny window, and a flower pot!  Some of my favorite, easy to grow, summertime edibles include:

• Red Romaine Lettuce (Often comes as a free gift from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds & can be successfully grown in an 11" pot)
• Nasturtiums - Both the blooms, and medallion shaped leaves are edible, and a source of both vitamin C & Iron.
• Marigolds (Tagetes & Calendula) - Cut petals at their base, and sprinkle over salads, or steep blooms in hot water for teas.  There is a laundry list of supposed uses, and health benefits of calendula blossoms, as well as praise for being a source vitamin C & Flavinoids.
• Pansies - Adorable sprinkled in salads, adorning deserts, or garnishing beverages, these little beauties contain both vitamins A & C.

If you're low on inspiration, look no further than Laurel Anderson's Wild Plate.  This gorgeous
non-cook book is loaded with fresh ideas, beautiful photography, and valuable, rarely shared tips and thorough explanations to help even the most rookie raw foodies out there!  I'm not one who follows a strict raw food diet, but as the temperatures climb I am one to avoid warm meals in the summer heat, and find myself flipping through its pages for new ideas.  If the raw food diet is something you're interested in, Wild Plate is not only the place to look for new smoothies, salads, and juices, but it will take you beyond the basics of raw cuisine, and walk you through what you need to know about raw food prep where others leave off, and gives you all the tools you need to start your raw food adventure!

My go-to Summer Salad consists of (vulgar amounts of):

• Red Romaine Lettuce
• Kale
• Carrots & Radishes (sliced into medallions)
• Black Olives
• Dried Cranberries
• Nasturtium Blooms
• Marigold Petals (snipped)

All tossed & topped with my favorite summertime Strawberry Vinaigrette by: The Gracious Pantry found here.  What I love about this really basic salad, and delicious dressing is that you can stop here, and have a beautiful dish packed with flavor, or  you can keep pushing it as it affords you the opportunity to get creative.  Want a little more heft?  Throw in some mushrooms!  Need more crunch?  Get out the celery stalks!  Swap out the lettuce for spinach ... throw in some walnuts, I mean, wherever you want to take it is totally up to you.  Bon Appétit, my lovlies!

xoxo

P.S. enjoy that blue moon tonight!

L'Amour

The mandala, or मण्डल (for those of you down with Sanskrit) has been used in spiritual practices throughout history, spanning the traditions of Tibetan Monks to Indigenous populations of the Americas, and beyond.  These "sacred circles" are nothing new, but are experiencing a certain resurgence in popularity.  Even late night television commercials are punting mandala coloring books for adults snuggled between scenes of trashy, American "reality" programming -- this makes part of me want to weep for humanity, but the other part thinks it's pure genius!  Who cares how the practice is introduced?  As long as what you need finds you, that's what matters ... Plus, if you act quickly, and call now(!) you'll receive two mandala coloring books!  Don't be greedy, give one to a friend, and spread the Zen around!

The meditative qualities of creating, coloring, or contemplating mandalas are supposed to be quite healing.  Coming solely from an artist's point of view, I can definitely grasp how this could be beneficial.  In the moment of pure creation, when you drop everything else, and surrender fully to becoming a vehicle for something authentic in a way that feels otherworldly is quite a magnificent, and powerful process to be part of.  Imagine honing that process to put the power toward a specific goal?  The results, could indeed, be quite awesome ... And at this point, I'm willing to open all avenues of healing so, with that in mind I reached for my High Vibe Guide by: The Cosmic Collective which consists of Sarah Wilder of The Fifth Element Life, Jo Klima of The Darling Tree, and KV of Aquarius Nation, printed off the first mandala corresponding to tonight's New Moon in Cancer, and got to work.

The theme of this mandala was focused on Self Love, and with that as my "mantra" I began working from the center and let the colors come to me without the force of my thinking-mind getting in the way.  I'm not exactly sure "self love" is what was coming through on this, or if I was just intoxicated by the scent of freshly sharpened colored pencils (seriously, I wish this was perfume -- somebody make this happen) having been away from them for the better part of a decade, but if this really is the visual expression of how I feel about myself, it certainly could explain, well, a lot actually. 

xoxo

[soh-shuh l]•[net-wurk]

I pretty much have a hate / hate relationship with all forms of social media.  Maybe that's a little harsh, it's probably more of a disgust for how we use (read: abuse) it that puts me off.  Here we are, surrounded by The Jetsons-esque technology -- stuff of pure childhood fantasy that most of us never thought we'd ever have in our daily lives, and how do we use it?  We show off, grandstand, thump our chests, bully, lie, cheat, even steal by snatching other people's content and passing it off as our own.  Frankly, we don't deserve it. Our technology has officially (if not far earlier than this moment) surpassed our maturity to use it, not just responsibly, but even graciously.

Step, if you will, through a portal with me to a time when Facebook was emerging from its infancy, before it was public, when it was only open to students currently enrolled in a college or university program.  Sure, I gave it a whirl.  A funny little place where you could keep in touch with friends, and peers, and annoy each other with "pokes," or mildly amusing posts to our "walls" (I mean, what WAS that fresh new term, it's like this personal, digital bulletin board all your friends can see ... WHAT?!).

And then, I deleted my account almost as quickly as I'd activated it.  There was something about those college days of waking up to be at the sewing lab by 6:00 AM before my 8:00 AM class, spending an entire day stomping all over a sweltering campus like a packhorse shlepping materials from one corner to another, finally getting to go home to gulp down a 7:00 PM meal just to turn around and spend the rest of my night in the CAD lab 'til 2-3 in the morning before going home again to catch a few zZz's to wake up and do it all over again that didn't jibe well with the neediness this burgeoning networking platform was creating.  The nail in the pixelated coffin looked a little something like this:

#LoveWins

Earlier this morning, The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that individual states can no longer ban same-sex marriage, stating that homosexual couples seeking permanent commitment deserve "equal dignity in the eyes of the law."  We're far from perfect equality for all in this country, but we're at least headed in the right direction.  No matter a person's feelings on the issue, I think we should all be wary of a government that wishes to legislate "morality," and I do hope this is seen as a victory for humanity in that we are free to make decisions, and live according to our individual values.  

Paint-by-Number

Oh My Darling, Clementine

Mouthful of Forevers 

I am not the first person you loved.

You are not the first person I looked at

with a mouthful of forevers. We

have both known loss like the sharp edges

of a knife. We have both lived with lips

more scar tissue than skin. Our love came

unannounced in the middle of the night.

Our love came when we'd given up 

on asking love to come. I think

that has to be part

of its miracle.

This is how we heal.

I will kiss you like forgiveness. You 

will hold me like I'm hope. Our arms 

will bandage us like flowers in a book.

I will write sonnets to the salt of sweat

on your skin. I will write novels to the scar

on your nose. I will write a dictionary

of all the words I have used trying

to describe the way it feels to have finally,

finally found you.

And I will not be afraid

of your scars.

I know sometimes

it's still hard to let me see you

in all your cracked perfection,

but please know:

whether it's the days you burn

more brilliant than the sun

or the nights you collapse into my lap

your body broken into a thousand questions,

you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I will love you when you are a still day.

I will love you when you are a hurricane.

-Clementine von Radics

"From Etsy to Sweatsy"

"How a handmade mecca went from part of a movement to part of the problem."

In the above link, April Winchell, author of Regretsy: Where DIY meets WTF, and formerly of the website by the same name (may it rest in peace), discusses Etsy's fall from grace, its IPO announcement, and illustrates its journey from Main Street to Wall Street.

Hey, boys and girls, do you know how to spell "sellout?"

[Children together]

E-t-s-y...

Very good!

***

Apparently this topic needs to be revisited.  There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding peoples’ displeasure with the metamorphosis of Etsy Inc.  In fact, instead of trying to educate themselves on exactly why certain business owners are disturbed by Etsy’s practices, we see the Etsy Apologists in full force, diminishing the concerns of said business owners, and likening their disagreement with Etsy’s direction to that of  a lovers’ quarrel.  To me, this is not only rude, but an irresponsible use of your voice, not to mention unoriginal.  Regurgitating something you read on a forum or in a comment section that someone else said, once, more than half a decade ago makes you neither clever, nor informed.  If you are at all interested in why people are unhappy, by all means, ask them.  They will tell you, most are not shy.  In fact, that's how I became aware of the many hypocrisies, and double standards, or no standards at all in some circumstances, that have become commonplace in doing business with Etsy.  I couldn’t understand why anyone would be upset with a company that provided an inexpensive platform to open a storefront, and sell wares from, and then I bothered to listen to what was happening to individual store owners, and the struggles they were facing, and how or why those struggles, and concerns may impact business, and business owners alike, in the future by continuing to align themselves with Etsy Inc.