A Wintery Winter

It's been awhile since we've been able to enjoy such a beautifully white winter. So many Rhode Island cold, wet, freezing winters have graced us in recent years. Every flake of snow that falls puts a smile on my face. Another blanket laid upon our existing covers. The kids enjoy every moment. I believe this could almost be more enjoyable to them then the blustery days of summer. The knock at the sliding glass door when they just about had enough. The rosy cheeks and snow drenched hair poking out beneath their hats. Another adventure.

The moments when the house is silent.

Someday I believe we will be blessed with a wood stove, but for now every time I hear the heat click on, my two oldest scramble for the warmest vents in the house (the back room and the bathroom), shut the doors to contain the warmth and pull up a child-sized chair. Their slippers come off and those tiny toes caress the warm metal grates. And there they will remain, quiet and peaceful, for the duration that the warm air blows.

How does a family who focuses on raw food stay warm and happy during a New England winter? Well besides amazing green-fruit smoothies, superb super foods and to live for home-made chocolates. Have you ever tried an irish moss mousse? We've been taking this super nutritious sea vegetable and creating the most out-of-this-world desserts. Any occasion is an occasion for celebration. Recently we had some great friends over for dessert. I decided this was a perfect excuse to treat ourselves to something a little decadent. Strawberry mousse with a coconut meringue, chocolate covered strawberries and a splash of chocolate love hearts. Who needs dinner? Life's short, eat more dessert! All raw, mostly organic and filled with love. A bit of heaven in every bite!
I highly recommend Sweet Gratitude: A New World of Raw Desserts this book brought to us our irish moss Ah HA! moment. This amazing book is refining the simple pleasures that we delight in sharing with our loved ones.

Life Lessons

My Mother always told me that there are different paths that you can take to get to the same destination, your purpose in life. One path is going to be difficult, you'll hit a lot more bumps along the way. The other path will flow more gently.

This lesson has proven itself to me in many ways over the course of my life thus far.

It feels as though when you change your thoughts, switch gears, follow your passion, point yourself in the direction that feels right in your heart, not necessarily what makes sense in your mind, the Universe/Spirit/God will respond. It can be subtle or in your face, but it will respond. Inspired thoughts, meeting new people that bring your journey to new places, a feeling of genuine exitement, like a child on Christmas Eve. The destination may not be what you intended for at the begining, but rest assured, it will be exactly where you need to be.

Do what you Love and Love what you do.

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?"

Our First Ice Skating Adventure

Emelia decided sometime ago that she wanted to become an ice skating teacher. So, for Solstice, she and Eli received their first pairs of ice skates. Patiently they have waited, and FINALLY the pond froze (our "pond" in the living room is thankful!) We headed way up north to Foster, RI, where we had our own personal rink.

Eli's four year old version of gathering his warm clothes for ice

skating...
Mom helped to find warm, waterproof mittens, a wool hat, a snow coat and snow pants...
He did find the knee pads though...

Suiting up for the adventure

I was very impressed at how quickly they adjusted to being on the ice, even Eli went back for more.

Although, Dad took to lying around on the job ;-)

Where was baby Willow during all of this, you maight ask?

Snug and warm, bundled and cuddled close to Mama and patiently waiting for her turn on the ice.

Winter Movement

We settle in for our long winter's hermitage, in this little state that doesn't quite have a true winter, but definitely experiences cold, wet and windy for many months of the year.

We are home bound more often then a four and six year old might like, as keeping cosy with our babe seems more comforting, more grounding. This is a very difficult transition for me, I have always been on the go, activities, movement. With the addition of Willow to our family, a gentle flow happens, much easier, when we stay home. The kids are happy with their backyard "frosty", climbing through the skeletons in the garden that never quite got put to bed this year, as we had more exciting fruits to harvest this past September. Being in our little home, seems stifling, so much clutter, so little space for 7 bodies. I have so much creative energy vortexing within my being. So many ideas, so much excitement. Our days are lengthening, bringing more light energy into our daily routine. This is a time of transition. Alas, it is time for serious movement within my home. Creating a flow to release this energy into positivity, transformation.

Dinner Plans

Emelia said to me last night, "Mom, I think we should have a veggie platter and a fruit platter for dinner" I agreed and began cutting up veggies. And when I turned around, to what did my wandering eye did appear? Two little children, creating dinner without any fear.

Beautifully they cleared and set the table and we enjoyed a wonderful candlelit dinner.

"Thank me and emelia for making these vegetable and fruit platter and thank you to mom for making the cashew dip. Namaste." ~Eli

Raising the Greenhouse

Once again, our winter seeds are a little late getting in the ground, but our sprouts poked their heads out of the soil over a month earlier than last year. Last year it was Thanksgiving morning that we made our way through the cold out to the hoophouse only to lift up the remay and discover our seedlings, something to be truely grateful for. Later that season, March, I believe, we harvested our first spring crop. Hopefully we'll be munching on our greens and those covetted hakurei turnips earlier this year. The remay has been on our seedlings for about a week now, but this weekend the plastic cover was pulled tight securing warmth for our babies.

Autumnberries

It's full swing autumn, here in New England. Possibly my favorite time, the crisp air, the changing leaves, preparing for hibernation, and autumn olives.

If you've never tasted the tart-sweetness of an autumn olive, it is time you did. Autumn olives, also known as autumn berries, are extremely abundant this time of the year. Not only delicious, these berries are purveyors of vitamins A, C and E, flavonoids, essential fatty acids and are loaded with lycopene. They are a truely local superfood. And my husband views it as such, squirreling it away for us (but making sure to leave enough for the birds and some for the plant). My husband and I have grand plans on preserving the harvest: freezing, concentrating, drying, blending, tincturing. What a wonderful medicine to aid us on our winter adventures.

The shrub is easy to identify. My daughter points out the silvery shimmer of their under-leaf as we make our way through town. "Mom, autumn olives!" She'll yell as we are driving down the road, taking note as to where we'll be able to harvest this year's goodies. My four year old picks the gold-speckeled, red berry out of a line up including autumun olive, poke berry and the deadly night shade berry, positive that he has picked the only edible fruit of the three. My children can identify a growing number of edible and medicinal plants at this point, but by far their favorite is their precious (and, unfortunately for the environmentalist in me, wildly invasive) autumn olive. Lucky for us we have more than we can handle, only a few steps away, giving us and our bird friends a convenient way to dine together for a few cherished weeks of the year.

For more information on the autumn olive, check out this link:

http://www.psa-rising.com/eatingwell/wild-foods/autumnolive.htm