#100HappyDays :: Day 100

And, there it is.  100 days of finding happy moments even in the mundane.  I began this challenge as our Northern landscape was just beginning to bloom, and I end it now enjoying the beautiful aroma of late summer and first blushes of fall in early turning leaves.

My Life According to Books I Read in 2013

Getting back in the groove after a thirteen plus hour drive yesterday led to a slow start this morning, sipping coffee in bed and catching up on blog reading.  I was intrigued by Lisa at Two Bears Farm's post, My Life According to Books I Read in 2013.  I too had a great reading year in 2013.  I completed 36 books which is pretty darned good, especially since I seem to have gravitated toward very long reads.  The task was a challenge, since many books that I read had one word titles or were food related, but it was fun and I encourage you to join in too!   My goal for 2014 is to read 50 books.  So with out further ado...

My Life According to Books I Read in 2013

Describe yourself:  

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

How do you feel:  

So Big by Edna Ferber

Describe where you currently live:

Bristol House by Beverly Swerling

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Your favorite form of transportation:

The Road From Gap Creek by Robert Morgan

Your best friend is:

Haunting Jasmine by Anjali Banerjee

You and your friends are:

Cherries in Winter by Suzan Colon

What's the weather like:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

What is life to you:

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Baumeister

Favorite time of day:

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

Your Fear:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

What is the best advice you have to give:

The Bookmans Tale by Charlie Lovett

Thought for the day:

French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating For Pleasure by Mirelle Guilano

How I would like to die:

From the Kitchen of Half Truth by Maria Goodin

My soul's present condition:

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

My family is:

The Truest Pleasure by Robert Morgan

All of these books I enjoyed, some more than others, how did your reading go in 2013.  Please leave me a note if you too blog about it!

October #Unprocessed

We are getting back into the groove of fall after our big spurt of late summer activity.  This week began October #Unprocessed from the Eating Rules website.  I stumbled across this a little over a month ago, and jumped on board with it.  Part of growing so much of our own food has involved becoming increasingly aware of what we are purchasing.  I began more intently reading labels and trying to make good choices in staples that we did not grow, and those things that we treat ourselves to.  We slowly began to eliminate highly processed and edible food-like items.  Like many things on this journey of ours, it is not all or nothing, we are gradually finding balance and peace with our food choices.

We have been moving in this direction for quite a while and much of what we eat we try to make from scratch with simple and flavorful ingredients.  When we purchase we look for organic, grass fed, hormone free, non-GMO items.   My focus for this month, aside from being even more conscious of our meals, is to begin to experiment and transition to more pure forms of sugar and wheat.  So far I have made a few items using only honey, pure maple syrup, and/or molasses as sweeteners, and they have worked quite successfully.  I am also playing around some with turbinado.  In my baking I am using primarily 100% whole wheat flour and learning how to manage recipes with it. 

The October #Unprocessed philosophy is not militant or unattainable.  It simply asks that you eliminate things that you could not create on your own at home with the ingredients listed on the package.  For example, I purchased soba noodles yesterday.  The ingredients listed were:  100% buckwheat flour & water.  Something I could easily make on my own, in my kitchen, if I had time.  You would be surprised at the number of things that you could make on your own based on the ingredient list on the side of a box (another good one I found was triscuits :) You may also be surprised at the length of ingredient lists on boxes full of words that you cannot pronounce or blanket words like 'natural flavor'.  It is all in the marketing.  Just do not fall prey to it.  Because it says it is 'natural' does not mean that is so, check the label, you might be very surprised!  A group of us on facebook have created a page where we are sharing not only the days recipes, but any challenges that we may be facing as we move through the month.   It also is about improvement, and learning.  So even if you can not commit to being 'all in', maybe you can focus on one thing.  For example try eliminating high fructose corn syrup this month.   Care to join in?  It is not too late!  Click on the link above and check it out!!

If I Were.....

If I were a month..... I would be October

If I were a day..... I would be Friday

If I were a time of day.....I would be dawn 

If I were a font.....I would be Ariel

If I were a sea animal.....I would be a jellyfish

If I were a direction.....I would be West

If I were a piece of furniture.....I would be a porch swing

If I were a liquid.....I would be a chilled Viognior

If I were a gemstone.....I would be an Australian opal

If I were a tree.....I would be an oak

If I were a tool.....I would be a pencil

If I were a flower.....I would be goldenrod

If I were an element of weather.....I would be the wind

If I were a musical instrument.....I would be acoustic guitar

If I were a color.....I would be blue

If I were an emotion.....I would be content

If I were a fruit.....I would be a mango

If I were a sound.....I would be a windchime

If I were an element.....I would be oxygen

If I were a car.....I would be fuel efficient

If I were a food.....I would be slow and homecooked

If I were a place.....I would be home

If I were a material.....I would be 600 thread count cotton

If I were a taste.....I would be sweet

If I were a scent.....I would be Aveda Chakra #6

If I were a body part.....I would be eyes

If I were a song.....I would be sung loudly

If I were a bird.....I would be an owl

If I were a gift.....I would be made by hand

 If I were a city.....I would be London

If I were a door.....I would be antique wood

If I were a pair of shoes.....I would be sandles

If I were a poem.....I would be The Road Less Traveled ~ Frost

I am playing along with Julochka today, won't you join me??  Please leave a message in my comments so I can follow along.

 

Six Word Wednesday

I was listening to an interview today about creativity. The guest, who is a teacher, mentioned that when she begins with a new set of students, she has them write a six word memoir to introduce themselves to the class. Mine came to me rather quickly. As I researched it a little further, I found that an online storytelling magazine called Smith took a cue from a legend about Ernest Hemingway's creating a six word short story, and challenged others to come up with six word snippets of their lives. I thought it would be a fun challenge to do a weekly segment of six words. What came to my mind today when thinking about introducing myself?

Creative gardens focus on sustaining family.

What six words would you choose today?