I've been thinking about the things we can do. As in-- the things we can always do when we're feeling stuck, blah, like we're in a funk, or like we just don't know what we should/can do. (Does that make sense?) Here's the beginning of my list:

1. Call your mom/sister/brother/aunt/grandma/friend/etc. These people love you, and you love them. Chances are, you'll make their day by letting them know you were thinking of them.
2. Volunteer. Especially, volunteer to do something that helps somebody who's in really tough shape. Besides realizing how good you actually have it, you'll remember that you're strong and capable. (You are strong and capable.)
3. Drink some water. It's good for your skin, combats bad moods, cleans out your system.
4. Exercise. (see #3)
5. Be kind. We always have the power to be a kind and loving presence in the world. Even when we feel sh*tty as all get-out, we can still be kind. Our words and actions (and songs) are how we put ourselves into this world, and we always, regardless of situation, have the power to love.
6. Stop for a second, just breathe, then use your senses to pay attention to where you are and what's actually going on around and inside you. What do you hear? What do you see? Is there a breeze, or sparkling snow on the ground, or dust in the air? Is there pain or discomfort in your body? If so, what exactly does it feel like? Pay attention. This helps us be in the moment, which is almost always better than not.
7. Turn off that computer/TV and go do something outside.

That's all for now. Let me know if you think of anything else.

Yay for Thanksgiving, one of my favorite days of the year. I love the simplicity of the holiday- the good focus on just food and loved ones. I love celebrating the harvest, celebrating family, taking a moment to rest with each other. I love that the day calls us to stop for a moment to see, hear and taste the good stuff in our lives.

In thanks for...

* my family -- biological and chosen
* sweet days with Camper
* ice skating, and the lagoon finally freezing
* new yummy foods (Have you eaten a pummelo??)
* lessons with Arnold at the Pioneer Home
* regular music jam nights with delightful folks
* roommate sister friend Natalie
* the beauty of simple things (sunlight coming through
curtains, bowls of persimmons on the kitchen table)
* goodness in the mail
* the beautifully wise women (mamas sisters friends) in my life
* our intelligent and compassionate President-Elect
* the sideways light
* my sisters' well-being
* loving and being loved by my favorite people
* grace

Anonymous List #8

1. Smiles when she sees me.
2. Wants to live in a house with lots of people.
3. Heats with wood.
4. Plays the fiddle, or the upright bass... maybe piano.
5. Bakes.
6. Grows things.
7. Makes me want to run lots of decisions/situations by her.
8. Rational.
9. Not afraid to mess with the normal social order.
10. Open-minded.
11. Can take it and dish it out.
12. Laughs at my jokes and shortcomings.
13. Appreciates the things I do well, but doesn't let me get a big head.
14. Smells like a girl.

(Want to know what's up with these Lists?? Click HERE to find out.)

Getting ready to ice skate.




(Oh, that I am never too old to dance in the living room!)

love in the mail

the cutie i hang out with 3 days a week

Happy birthday, my sweet Natalie sister!

Finally, here's Lisa's West African Peanut Soup recipe, from our peanut butter potluck. I knew the stuff was addictive, but I didn't know that it had an ENTIRE JAR of peanut butter in it!! That explains everything.

West African Peanut Soup

Ingredients:

2 tbsp peanut or olive oil
2 medium inions, very finely diced
2 large bell peppers, finely chopped (any color)
6 large cloves garlic, minced
8 cups vegetable broth
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
½ cup uncooked rice
1 (18 oz.) jar creamy peanut butter (or 9 oz. creamy, 9 oz. crunchy)
chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, and garlic until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with their juice, vegetable broth, pepper and red pepper flakes.
2. Add rice to soup and stir. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 25 minutes, or until rice is tender.
3. When rice is coked, whisk in peanut butter and return to a simmer, and serve. Garnish with chopped roasted peanuts, if desired.

Ice skating, yesterday, with Natalie, Laura and Sarah at Goose Lake. It was 5:30 or 6:00 when these pics (thanks, Sarah!) were taken.

The dark is getting long, now. It starts at about 5, does not relent until about 9 in the morning, and we lose minutes every day. I remember being freaked out by this before, but this year it's not that bad. This is partly because I've been nannying during the day, which means that I spend a good long while outside every day, on pleasant walks and playing in the snowy backyard.

Besides, there are major perks to Anchorage winters. The glistening sideways light, which comes low and lower from the south, and makes everything into purple and pink and orange and gold, is here now; it is extraordinarily beautiful, something I've loved forever but only gotten for a few moments at wintertime dusk in my "lower 48" upbringing. I love, too, these evenings that are full of friends and music and food, or pajamas on at 7 and painting reading chatting writing nesting from then on. Our little apartment is a safe and warm cocoon, with lovely, frequent visitors who often bring musical instruments and food. And now that the ice is frozen, daytime can be spent in the loveliness of gliding around on glassy lakes with mountains shining in the distance.

This Alaska--this beautiful wild space--is a good place to be. {I am grateful!}

Am home sick, with a nasty, nasty head-clogging and body-woozing thing. I'm laid up on the couch, drinking tea, reading poetry (Mary Oliver and Wendell Berry) and watching season 2 of Joan of Arcadia--which is a little like going to therapy. Here are pics from hiking Lazy Mountain this weekend with Natalie and Johnny. The weekend also included a gig with Sky Gathering, a good long run, ice skating with Lisa and a spontaneous concert with Tess and Mary Rita. The concert was Ruthie Foster and Eric Bibb, and felt like good church.Looking out over the Matanuska River, Palmer, and the inlet. I love that cloud creeping by the river.

Mom just sent this photo of our driveway in Kentucky. Can you see the log house at the end? It's fall, fall, fall, there. Beautiful. I will be glad to come up that rocky drive in a month and a half.

Anonymous List #7

Loves me when no one else is looking
Christian
Has the spirit of an Adventurer
Loves his family and mine
Willing to grow together, and wants and is able to share his life
Will "waste" the morning away sitting and drinking coffee together
Loves to drive
Kisses me in my sleep
Loves to be on the water
Willing to not have pets
Can make me smile when he walks into the room
Makes me laugh
Enjoys cooking together
Loyal
Is not complacent in life, always wanting to be a better person
Is thoughtful and reflective in his decision-making; never rash
Loves to entertain
Owns a bookshelf filled with books that he has read.
Loves to travel
Is curious and has a sense of wonder
Is able to fix things

(Want to know what's up with these Lists?? Click HERE to find out.)

This morning I woke up singing an African spiritual (Siyahamba ku ka nyen kwen ko...). I had been dreaming that I was in my kitchen with 2 or 3 roommates and friends, cooking and singing great harmonies. The translation of the song is, "We are marching in the light of God," or, "We are marching in the light of Love." It's a much different feeling, waking up today, than waking up 4 years ago.

Here's a poem Liz sent. I'm sending it out with great thanks to Tess, my mom, Jessie, Anna, Blake and all the fine folks who invested themselves into this political stuff in some good and necessary way.

Sometimes

Sometimes things don't go, after all, from bad to worse.
Some years, muscatel faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war; elect an honest man; decide they care enough,
that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go amiss;
sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow that seemed hard frozen:
may it happen for you.

-Sheenagh Pugh

and a (lower-case l) list from the sweetest hootin annie in Salem, MA:

10 great things

1. an avocado awaiting me

2. a pink pig necklace hanging in the kitchen (and the pig has three necklaces on)

3. humming with a zucchini stick in my mouth

4. knowing I'll go to a yoga class in 1 hour

5. unlimited water to drink

6. folk singer crooning in the background

7. my sweetie's hands on my belly

8. stretching. stretching.

9. color, all types of color

10. hot water trickling down your scalp when you're cold

Here are some pics from the peanut butter potluck we hosted here at O Place. It was most assuredly one of my favorite potlucks of all time! Our guests brought incredible culinary creations, and told stories of being truly inspired by the challenge of making a dish that included peanut butter. When I find that piece of paper that Lisa gave me (and hopefully my brain, along with it), I'll post her recipe for African Peanut Soup, which was aMAzing.

Angela's gorgeous spring rolls with peanut sauce

Johnny's stuffed dates.... divine!

A woodsprite meets Sarah Palin...

"superstar" Mary Catherine Gallagher in the kitchen

Amy, Elise and Natalie

Anonymous List Number Six:

1. Red-haired with freckles, or dark and handsome
2. Likes to talk more than me
3. Huge heart
4. Likes to sing
5. Loving and welcoming toward anyone
6. Good listener
7. Chivalrous
8. Knows how to fix things
9. Decisive
10. Appreciates the outdoors
11. Not too tall
12. Lives for God’s glory
13. Likes silence
14. Self-motivated
15. Funny (but not corny)
16. Somebody who doesn’t require flirting, and who plays no games
17. Bi- or tri-lingual
18. Responsive, sensitive communicator (who initiates conversation)
19. Lives in the spirit
20. Genuinely and openly caring and compassionate
21. Unique
22. Not a bore
23. Puts others before himself
24. Not a sports fanatic
25. Able to be vulnerable and spontaneous
26. Has a zeal for learning and teaching

(Want to know what's up with these Lists?? Click HERE to find out.)

Anonymous List Number Five:

# Loves me, including my quirks
# Respects me, even with my imperfections
# Understands our differences and our similarities
# Knows how to work and how to play
# Gains the affection and respect of my family
# Has empathy even for strangers
# Reads for fun
# Loves to travel
# Always up for exploring and learning
# Eats (and maybe cooks?) Asian food
# Concerned about the environment and endangered animals
# Good with children
# Enjoys long, meandering walks and a good conversation
# Good with money, but not overly frugal or wasteful
# ESTP or ESFP :)

(Want to know what's up with these Lists?? Click HERE to find out.)