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Friday, June 27, 2008

Sweet Summer

The other night I sat down with a big bowl. A big bowl with whipped cream in it. And I dumped an entire half pint box of raspberries right into it. Simple. Totally magical. The epitome of summer, for me. For me, it is the simple things, the aroma of the misty morning on the top of Wier Hill, the sound of a bird singing, the feeling of the rain on my face, the bursting of berries in my mouth, these are the songs that reside within me during the cold months, the dark times.

I was walking in the Bird Sanctuary behind Phillips Academy last week, and I found myself stopped in my tracks, thinking "This is the moment. This one moment is the best moment I have had in a very long time...I will remember this moment, always." The aroma of the mountain laurels, waxy and sweet was wafting in the air. The dogs were splashing in the pond and the breezes were making the tall grasses dance gently. I was alone and perfectly content to be walking three dogs in the wooded pathways. I breathed in a deep and comforting breath and I stood there, not wanting the moment to pass.

It always does.

This morning, as I was picking more blueberries, the dew on the leaves all around me was shining like diamonds. The water on the lake was glass-smooth. I felt so very lucky.



Your Daily Dose of Cool Things:


How funny would it be to put, like, 20 of these on someone's ceiling when they went away for a weekend????





Click Here for cute kitty necklace!



Your Daily Dose of Wonderful Design:

Click Here to visit YooLa and her keen stuff on Etsy!

I simply adore the simplicity of these crocheted pomegranates. How lovely to have a wooden bowl filled with these for the holidays. Heck, for any day at all! Go check her out!

Your Daily Dose of Inspiring Words:


"The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire." - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Your Daily Dose of Wicked-Good Food:


Crispy Multigrain Bread

I use a bread machine some days. Especially during this past oh-so-very busy month, I have relied on my bread maker to dump out crunchy good bread in the morning. I used the following recipe for the bread shown above.

1 cup millet flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup AP flour
2 teaspoons sea salt (I used celtic green)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup fat free organic milk
1/3 cup walnut oil
1 tablespoon active yeast granules
1/2 bag frozen organic pitted dark cherries

I put the whole mess in the machine and pushed a button. But, if you need to do this on your own, proof the yeast with the syrup and the milk (warm it first). Add the other ingredients, knead until soft and pliable, let rise 2 hours, punch down, form into loaf pan, let rise an additional hour and bake at 400 degree oven until browned and you hear a hollow sound when thumping the bottom, about 35 minutes depending on your loaf pan.