all about all of us
What’s happening my friend?
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” – Steve Jobs,
Apple Worldwide Developers’ Conference, 1997
The above quote is taken from:
This is Shamus Jones. My daughter Sumi took this picture when we were meandering around Park Slope one lovely summer day in 2012, and happened upon a blackboard in front of a factory. After reading it, Sumi and I glanced at each other, and eagerly entered Brooklyn Brine Co., and saw fragrant, spicy, and beautifully scented pickles. Now there are many, many excellent small specialty shops in Park Slope, and somehow there’s always great interest when another one appears. I say appears because that’s the way it seems. You walk down a street and suddenly there’s a new shop – pies, dumplings, the best cheeses, cafes, bistros, coffee you’ll go out of your way to sip, pizzas having the best ingredients and made with love, small ethnic restaurants, etc. that weren’t there a short time ago, and the mind thinks of great eating possibilities – as with Shamus’ pickle factory. Watch the videos at www.brooklynbrineco.com and you’ll see what I mean; listen to Shamus talk about, well, pickles, and that it all began out of necessity when he was laid off from a job. Watch how the “pickle nerds” work, learn how to make homemade dill pickles. Ordinarily one doesn’t get so excited when talking about pickles, though when you check it out, you’ll see that Brooklyn Brine is no ordinary pickle factory. And to boot, the “pickle nerds” seem to enjoy what they do.
Shamus shows us what can happen when necessity is the driving force.
It’s raining, it’s pouring . . . and It’s 10:00pm and I was just reading an article by Cathy Brown at www.escapeartist.com about a mother and her 13 year old son who have been traveling for three years and have no intention of stopping. You can enjoy a wonderful article at www.raisingmiro.com . Yes, indeed, how vastly different life would be for many of us if we would just let go of our fears and . . . “Trust, trust, trust.” Imagine that! That’s exactly what Lainie and Miro do.
That would be a delightful dream tonight – living without fearing. . . .
Sweet dreams.
If I prepared the scrumptious looking Paleo Coconut Macaroons recipe from www.elanaspantry.com for myself, they’d be gone in a flash. I’ll wait till I’m ready to bake for a few people. Then we can enjoy the macaroons together. Until then, I’ll look at the picture every so often.
If you’re looking for different breakfast ideas and haven’t seen the offerings of MAKE – A Better Breakfast April 19 by Dr. Frank Lipman at www.goop.com click on and be delighted. The menu is a feast for the eyes – healthy, nutritious, and from the pictures, I would say delicious. Included in the recipes is a Chia Seed Pudding. Last week Sumi and I wanted to make it; we were so eager to taste it. But, alas, we were busy – nicely busy. Perhaps on the next trip.
I just returned from Park Slope, Brooklyn where talent, passion and creativity are delightfully displayed in the many excellent small speciality shops lining every block. And recently it was daughter Emi’s birthday and family and friends gathered to celebrate with her. Happy, Happy Birthday, dear Emi! Before we did though there was a show on Friday evening in the East Village related to co-creators Emi’s and Jessie’s website www.baddategreatstory.com that daughter Sumi and I finally got a chance to see. It wasn’t the usual way I spend my time; but the extracting of laughs from bad date angst can be wildly entertaining. Sorry to say this if you’re newly bruised from a bad date, but you just might have a great story to tell, and let’s face it, it’s probably a funny story that will put things right – if you let it.
Before stepping in to watch the show, Sumi and I had dinner at Soba-ya at 229 East 9th Street. This could be the place for you if you are an appreciator of quality. Sumi had been there before, so in we went, and not for a second did we regret ordering from the day’s specials. www.sobaya-nyc.com
Your imagination will fill you in on how the following six comedians: James Alexander, Will Garre, Rachael Parenta, Jessie Male, Alix Mansbach, and Jason Salmon got a lot of mileage in the telling of their own bad date great story experiences, and, one after the other, kept us all laughing.
Emi and Jessie, you both put together a very entertaining show.
After the performances Sumi and I walked along 8th Street and pointed to all the places where once upon a time stood shops we really liked and now are gone. That’s Manhattan, people and places are always coming and going.
It was now time to duck into the subway station and head back to Park Slope. The evening, well, it was a very lovely one.
And now it’s time to blend an avocado, apple, freshly squeezed lemon juice, chopped ginger, chia seeds, stevia, Navitas Cacao Powder, and 1 cup of water (because there’s no almond milk, rice milk, or coconut water in this apartment at the moment) for a nutritious and delicious smoothie.
I hope you enjoyed the day and that the evening is all you want it to be.
Have you heard of Anita Moorjani’s Near Death Experience (NDE), and her book, DYING TO BE ME? An amazingly different NDE was what she had, unlike any other on record. And the kinds of things she learned while in “the other realm,” and later wrote and talked about in interviews are making the heads of people swirl. The gist of her story is that she had lymphoma cancer for four years, and from the base of her skull to her abdomen everything was swollen, and all through her body she had tumors the size of lemons. Her body was ready to die. And so she did, more or less. In the NDE she was able to know what was happening on earth also. So when she returned to her body she filled in all the details, leaving family and doctors completely baffled. A few days later, she had fully recovered. I’m thinking that DYING TO BE ME must be one enthralling book – a book unlike any other. From watching videos and reading interviews, and without yet reading her book, I can only imagine how her story can expand all of our views about life and death, and possibly teach us to see it all in a new and exciting way.
www.anitamoorjani.com
www.nderf.org
Sweet dreams everyone. I used to say: Don’t let the bed bugs bite, but, since twice getting them, I don’t say that anymore:-)
This past weekend I meandered over to Essene Market&Cafe in Philadelphia to buy chick pea miso and wheat-free Tamari at WWW.ESSENEMARKET.COM”>WWW.ESSENEMARKET.COM On the way to, and directly across the street from Essene was a shop called THE HOUSE of TEA.Ltd. The shop’s window beckoned tea lovers by enticingly displaying some teapots and accessories from around the world. Yerba mate was on my list so I went in and took a place on line. It was a small shop and it felt as though it had history. I didn’t mind standing in that particular line listening to customers ordering. There were many wooden bins filled with teas I’d not heard of, and customers easily paid much more than I was used to paying for a few ounces of tea. Quality tea, I thought, as I continued to wait. I bought yerba mate and left knowing it wouldn’t be my last time in that little shop.
Now this is what I want to tell you. A few days later I checked the website of this small shop with history: WWW.HOUSEOFTEA.COM and was treated to a wonderful biography of the founder of the tea shop. And all I want to say is that if there’s any one reading this who can’t decide what to do in life, as odd as this sounds, you just might find inspiration when reading about the life of the founder of the small tea shop. Click “Our Heritage” and read about “Nathaniel Litt, architect, circus clown, magician, chef, jam-maker and tea shop owner – changing careers seemed as easy as changing his socks. If he got interested in something, he simply did it.” And I want to add that he didn’t do anything half way; he trained at some of the best places.
Ah, life, how very interesting it all is.
It’s another beautiful, warm and sunny day where I am, and I hope it’s the same for you.
Let’s enjoy.
What do we do without access to our own guru, mentor, or someone capable of bringing us to a higher level of understanding? Well, if we steadily put our attention on the right ones, books can be great guides.
It’s been written in these books that we’re all the creators of our own life, although most of us are not conscious of this, blame outside forces, and take little or no responsibility for things that happen to us. We think it’s so easy this way, although we’re not even conscious that that’s what we’re thinking.
And then there’s a small group of people who have a gut feeling, an almost overpowering feeling, that what is is far different than what could be. And this overwhelming gut feeling spurs them on. They willingly take the bull by the horns, so to speak. and, step-by-step, harness the patience and effort, and whatever else it takes, to change the way they see the world, to change the thoughts they think moment-to-moment about themselves and everyone else, and ultimately establish a new way of consciously living in the world. Again and again we’re reminded by these people that we’re all capable of doing what they’ve done. In fact, evolving is what we’re supposed to be doing, and therefore, we’re more than capable of getting ourselves from unconscious to conscious living. Nice, right?
Walk around city streets and it’s obvious that the majority of people are not too happy with. . . . Name anything and it’ll most likely fit the rest of the sentence. One area of distress is the physical body, lack of energy, irritable bowel syndrome, all kinds of allergies, anxiety, autoimmune disorders, bloating, constipation, body odor, cancer, diabetes, diahhrea, eczema, fibromyalgia, heart disease, joint pain, toxic overload, stress, thyroid dysfunction, and more.
Okay, I’ve taken the above from the index of the book CLEAN by Alejandro Junger because, in the clearest and most interesting of ways, he addresses humankind’s health problems. CLEAN is wonderfully enlightening, and I”m kept busy underlining and trying to take it all in before beginning the three-week detox program. Anyone suffering in any way – mentally, emotionally, physically, soul hungry – CLEAN addresses just about every human distress. Not ready to detox? – read the book, plant the seeds, learn and absorb – for now.
The following websites are from the book:
www.cleanprogram.com
www.cancerdecisions.com
www.debraslist.com
Most of us can use an injection of instant enthusiasm, right? Reading the book The Mother of Invention by Neale Donald Walsch just about guarantees that we’ll get it. The back jacket of the book reads: “A biography unlike any other, The Mother of Invention tells the story of every human being now on the earth . . . through the telling of the life story of futurist and visionary Barbara Marx Hubbard. We are all moving through the same process, the book and it’s subject declare, it is the process of the birthing of our species.” this is not just any biography. You’ll see, if you decide to read it.
More wonderful websites:
www.evolve.org
www.HealYourLife.com
Enjoy a lovely day.
Have you been to the site BlogHer? I just left it, but not before reading the post “From Large to Little: My Tiny House Saga. . . about, yes, tiny houses. I liked what she said, and all the reasons given for opting to live in a tiny house. The woman who wrote the post said she saw a video about tiny houses, and, well, there she is sitting next to hers now; it’s very appealing, isn’t it?.
www.blogher.com
What to cook? What about pasta, onions, and mashed sweet potatoes, sprinkled with spices, salt, pepper, and olive oil or coconut oil?
First the planning: This dish easily lends itself to an increase or decrease of ingredients, it depends on your tastes. As long as the penne is dressed with enough cayenne pepper, Celtic salt (or another good quality salt), pepper, organic spices, a good quality olive oil or coconut oil, it should be a delicious meal.
The ingredients:
1 lb. organic Penne
2 or 3 large sweet potatoes
1 T. diced ginger
2 or 3 large organic onions, halved lengthwise, then sliced
1 T. garlic, chopped
cayenne pepper
turmeric, cumin, cardamon
olive oil, or coconut oil
Boil enough water for penne.
Put the thinly-sliced sweet potatoes in a medium-sized pot and cover the bottom with water. Add chopped ginger and gently simmer until soft. Check on them a few times. Stir during the cooking, also check that there’s enough water. When cooked mash them in the pot along with the ginger. Set aside.
In the meantime, add penne to the boiled water, and boil according to directions.
Heat at least two tablespoons of olive oil or coconut oil, and saute the two sliced large onions slowly. When transparent add the chopped garlic and a few shakes, or more, depending on taste, of turmeric, cumin, and cardamon, continue to cook until nicely browned. Then add a few shakes of salt and pepper. Mix the onion mixture with the penne, cayenne pepper, and olive oil or coconut oil. Then add the mashed sweet potatoes, along with a few shakes of salt and pepper, more or less depending on taste, and mix very well.
Serve and enjoy.
Last week I prepared this in Richmond for Alicia and Michael. They liked it, and asked if I would please prepare it again the next evening. I said, “Why not?”
Have an extraordinary day!