Earth Hour

http://www.earthhour.org/

Hear the blackbird sing

A lovely song

a lovely tune




In the meadow in the forest
In the meadow in the forest



Hear the blackbird sing, hear the blackbird sing,
Hear how he takes a note and then
Hear how he sings it over again, over again.
Over again


In the meadow in the forest
In the meadow in the forest














In the forest





In the meadow






Dear readers, if you follow this blog could you please add your name on to the follow list as friend or follower, thank you!
x Susannah

Hot Cross Mum ( me)

I am so, so cross!







Last week I took some children I look after to the Playground in Manor House Park.
A woman sat in the boat with another younger woman, taking all the boats back space ( the boat has a sitting bench inside, nevertheless children like to play in the boat); she was smoking. Normally an adult smoking in the playground would stand, perhaps slightly apart,away from children playing, or on a seat by the fence... or the other side of the gate/fence.This woman was smoking in the boat and there were many children around and near her playing- not her children. She had a baby in a pram, the pram near the boat. I asked the woman politely if she could please go and smoke away from the boat and the children: her answer was negative and she was indeed very rude. I could not believe that she thought it was normal behaviour not to be aware of the fact that she was smoking in the children playground, right near the children and taking up play space that belongs to the children ( this goes to the very young adults or teenagers who sit or stand on the swings )This woman was arrogant, ignorant, rude, stupid and much more. I got cross and told her  that her behaviour and her response to my simple request was wrong and that she lacked respect. Respect for others, for the children's space and the children's health and ultimately herself.
I can't believe that there are people like this in our society. Where is common sense gone?


I was so, so cross!


I still am!

I believe that smoking in select outdoor spaces, such as parks and playgrounds, can be detrimental to both our health and the health of the environment. Outdoor smoking results in outdoor tobacco smoke, which poses the same health risks as second-hand tobacco smoke. In particular, the Society is concerned about children being exposed to adult smoking behaviour in youth-friendly areas like playgrounds. Not only does it teach children that smoking is acceptable, it exposes them, unnecessarily, to the health risks of second-hand smoke. Outdoor smoking also has a negative impact on the environment with respect to smoking related litter and it is a source of fire in our provincial parks.


Going to the park for a walk/ taking the children to play, for a picnic, feed the ducks, etc...strolling through the park, especially
in urban areas, such as London, should be for me a way to get away from car fumes and city pollution. Parks are urban spaces where you are in contact with Mother Nature. It is an insult to smoke in a Park. Surely one comes to the park for 'fresh air'; to be near trees and green grass, to breathe a bit of oxygen!
I can't believe that smoking is still allowed in Parks, especially Royal Parks. I do not believe that there is no rule about smoking in children's playgrounds! Please, dear government ban it NOW!


And then this morning I read from the BBC news:




http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17551568 




ok it is about smoking in homes and cars...but surely I am not mad thinking what I think, surely there are others out there who are fed up with people smoking everywhere...!??




I went to websites and saw many comments similar to mine, that is reassuring! One of the things I hate is walking past pubs and cafes on the street and people are sitting there smoking like is their last day on Earth...
Even when instead of sitting indoors I like to sit outside or in the back garden of a cafe with or without children, I can't!
This is a comment I found from a chat site about banning smoking in Parks:




Absolutely, the problem is now, is that non-smokers are forced indoors. No longer can we sit outside a cafe and eat al fresco, as there is always a desperate smoker puffing away nearby...






http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9187701.Should_we_ban_smoking_in_parks_/




Last year in Wales people said something! read on:


http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/health-and-beauty-in-wales/2010/09/21/call-for-public-play-area-smoking-ban-91466-27307378/ 




So, I signed this petition that I found on the net: maybe you could sign it too!


http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/19030




That is the least I can do for now...

This moment

This moment
Not now
Just before
But hold it
A bit longer
Longer still
Still
Back to the original thought
Only a little different now
Now
Not now
Just after
Breathing out
Hold
Still
Feel the peace
Breath in
A new breath
A new moment
Just gone




 





Slow,
 Like the Sun moving across the sky
Aware
 Of each breath and each moment passing
Feel
The pulse of life
The Earth moving
Your heart beating


pErhaPs is hOw we sEe LiFe that maKeS LiFe a wOndeRful jOurneY

Poems and Quotes by Susannah Andrews


I see these amazing things each day and I wonder, how many of us are aware?
 Am I missing so many beautiful things myself? As I am only just learning to slow down and take each moment, it is hard, it is an art, a skill that we can learn through practice.
 My heart sometimes beats so fast or misses a beat and catches up and is like tumbling down the stairs...or running up the stairs two steps at the time. There are moments in life when it is ok to do so...but mostly...oh well...what are we running for? Why run for the bus if we know there is another one in 5 minutes? 
Is it worth it risking crossing the road fast and chancing getting hit by a car?
What is the rush? Why not wake up 2o minutes earlier and enjoy the birds singing in the morning?
What is it this frenetic lifestyle, trying to cram so many things in one day?
 What is the result? Usually an empty feeling, stress, and a feeling that you missed something or are forgetting something so terribly important...but what is it? 
I tell you what it is....: breathing!




Being in tune with oneselves...


Ask yourself: Am I hungry, really hungry?
(Or I just want to grab a quick snack because I only got 5 minutes and there is a Starbucks just there?)


Is it time to nourish myself?
How am I going to nourish myself?


Fresh air, silence- peace
The park, the river...sitting on the grass in the shade?


Am I allowing time to sit down and being still and enjoy good food, a book...etc...
Do I allow the time for a walk and enjoy seeing grass, flowers, feeling the sun on my face?




Perhaps living in London makes me even more aware of these crazy things that we do or say! Our expectations and how we live our lives! Do we really need shops and restaurant to be open almost 24 hours a day?
Have we all lost the sense of time? By this I mean the time for something:
examples


The time of waking
when we can- without alarm, with the light and the sound of morning bells and birds


The time for thinking
when we can without twitter, CNN, Internet or being on the phone, texting...or sometimes talking or listening to sounds-talking radio or music-iPod...


The time for doing
doing, initiating a task and finishing the task with purpose and being mindful- this means without doing things as above or in other words multitasking


The time to go to church
Time for gardening
Time for reading
Time for walking to the market, get the papers...
Time to actually meet someone special
Time to talk - face to face- really listening


Time to listen ( going to concerts etc...)


Time to eat, enjoying food and doing just eating ( not thinking, not working, not texting...etc...)


We are all guilty of not remembering the simple things of our daily activities


How about:
Time to eat Strawberries ( early summer and not all year round)
Time to go shopping ( when you need it and on a certain time of the day like morning for bread and milk, evening for groceries...)
Time for cappuccino ( between 7 am and 11 am)
Time for tea ( 3 pm)
Time for going to the post office
walk the dog






Time of the week
cleaning day- ironing day- rubbish day


Time of the month 
sorting paper work...etc..


Time of the year


can you think of something


These are our natural rhythms


Spring cleansing, starting new things, is relatively easy at this time of the year...but to keep something going, a rhythm...a routine, a seasonal thing...it could be a marking a special day, a festival...


These things are so important and yet because modern lifestyle is fast and everything seems available so early or too soon, or too much of it, like hot cross buns soon after Christmas...


The special moments are lost and forgotten...
The delight in waiting for something
Making that something feel more special and important...


Fewer and fewer people are doing this and this makes me sad


So my task is to remind myself about the natural rhythms and the simple life pleasures...
slowing down and live according to our natural rhythms


Susannah Andrews



Read on: these amazing links -websites and blogs full of inspiration and all about slow living!
I just extracted and chose pages but look at all other pages-articles! Happy reading!


 







The Art of Simplicity: A Simple Guide to Focusing on the Essentials of the Heart
Key Word: Integrity
Key Concept: Divine wisdom
Cosmic Question: What priorities lead to peace and spiritual growth?
• You can create greater abundance in your life when you make conscious choices. 
• Making right choices leads us beyond fear, anger, judgement, and other ego agendas into spiritual—and material—freedom. 
Simplicity can be difficult to achieve in a world that clamors for "more! more! more!" But simplicity opens the way to the center of the heart--the still place where quiet, healing, and a still small voice await. Simplicity is making elegant choices, treasuring precious moments, and valuing that which is of eternal worth. Like Michelangelo who saw the statue of David in the heart of the stone, so we are called to reveal the inner beauty hidden in the chaos of our lives. Simplicity is singleness of heart, focused on the essentials of life, rather than being distracted by our desires and fears. Simplicity is a celebration of the heart--a chance to touch eternity in a moment of meditation. Simplicity is finding abundance in the small things. 








http://www.slowmovement.com/natural_rhythms.php

http://www.create-the-good-life.com/awareness_design_practice.html

http://slowdownnow.org/

WELCOME SPRING

Welcome Spring

The sweet songs of the birds

The warm sun on my face

The fresh air

The bright light

A short spring meditation

Ecclesiastes 3v1-16 

Spring is here, a time of waiting, of expectation...

Spring is here, a time of…
preparing new ground
planting new plants
nurturing new seedlings
tending new shoots
protecting new buds

A time of…
clearing out the old
throwing away the tarnished
discarding the wasted
emptying out the junk
chucking out the crap

A time of…
dreaming new dreams
thinking new thoughts
making new plans
growing new goals
welcoming new hope

A time of…
holding tight the fragile
embracing the vulnerable
nurturing the young
becoming aware of the potential
longing for summer

Time to recommit, to begin again the work… the rest of winter is over… the glory of summer is just beginning.

Spring Fever

(words & music by giant - baum - kaye)

A little bird, he told me so
He said come on, get on the go
Open your eyes the sky is full of butterflies
The blossoms on the trees stir up the honey bees
Spring makes my fever right

Spring fever, spring is here at last
Spring fever, my heart’s beating fast
Get up, get out spring is everywhere

Well if you feel the wanderlust
Just grab a car or hop a bus
In every town there’s excitement to be found
So much is happening
Don’t miss the joy of spring
The world’s in love just look around

Spring fever comes to everyone
Spring fever, it’s time for fun
Get up, get out spring is everywhere

Spring fever, it’s spring fever time
Spring fever, watch that fever climb
Get up, get out spring is everywhere

Spring is everywhere

 

Vernal Equinox

     At Spring Equinox the veils between worlds are thin and the earth experiences equal portions of light and dark.
The spring equinox is celebrated as the balance between day and night.
 It marks the beginning of the triumph of light.
 The forces of death and life are equally balanced.
 Rituals performed during this time open us to the beauty of the unseen world.

 









The spring equinox is tonight, with this year’s spring equinox falling, or shall we say “springing up” on March 20th. This celestial event means “equal night”, the point in time when daylight and night are of equal length.
Most of us are happy to greet this time of year. We catch a little spring fever, experience more energy, and are more prone to start new projects in the spring. We’re also ready for a fresh start, renewing our homes with spring cleaning.
Equality
The equinox and solstice full moons are prominent markers that signify change. While we do reach this point of equality or balance we do not stay in that place for very long. We strive within our own lives to find balance, but again we rarely stay in that seemingly perfect place. While we may look at balance as our goal we actually reap the greatest rewards in the midst of the process or journey. We have desires, and that gets our mind working toward creating something new. We face challenges, and that allows us to recognize our strengths.
Spring Forward


Spring certainly is associated with happy feelings. There is a sense of awakening, and it’s hard to resist that feeling when we see life re-emerging all around us. Even the man-made shifting of the clocks mimics the life-embracing feeling as we “spring forward” as opposed to “falling back”.


A Time To Awaken


Life is amazing in the sense that we have so many little moments, given to us one at a time, but we also have the consciousness and memory to string those moments together. This opposing force we could call “a lifetime of nows” is far from balanced: we can so easily detach ourselves from the experience of this moment. Our memories can ignore some details while overemphasizing other points simply to give us a satisfactory perception.
Spring gives us the chance to begin again, or at least renew ourselves. We look at the world around us, seeing life bursting forth in flora and fauna, and use this as a sign to reawaken ourselves spiritually. This is far from new to us, and in religious circles the renewal of the spirit and rebirth of the soul has long been referred to as “being reborn”.


Spring Equinox


Our present day calendar begins our new year on January 1st, but in times past the new year was celebrated at the spring equinox. What better time to add a little spring in our steps! This is a wonderful time to celebrate our ability to shift our consciousness back into a place of rediscovery and grow even more in wisdom as we blend our now moments into our lifetime.


good info on nature cycles blog:
http://naturescycles.com/blog/?p=100






Balance of Yin and Yang










Back to Article List
SPRING CLEANING OUR WAY TO HEALTH
Our understanding of the energy of food and eating in harmony with the changing seasons is a sacred pathway for our health and well being. Our developing consciousness is our greatest asset as we determine which foods and which season of the year will best cleanse and purify us.
I believe it is through the understanding of the macrobiotic philosophy that reveals the spring season as the optimal time for cleansing as well as which foods are most purifying and cleansing to us.
In the last 2,000 years, Catholics and Christians used Lent, (during the time period from Ash Wednesday in April to Easter in May), as a time for purifying. This was a disciplined mandatory event, in which one was supposed to “give up” or sacrifice something in the form of fasting.
Based upon my study of Macrobiotics, a 5,000 year old philosophy about the natural order of the universe, I believe I found a reason for this tradition. I believe this fasting, purifying period came about naturally because of the scarcity of food during the spring season. Ages ago, we harvested what we could in the fall, (September, October, November), ate our bounty throughout the winter, (December, January, February,) and by springtime, (March, April, May), we were mostly out of food. It was natural then to fast until greens started to sprout again.
Macrobiotics is the study of the order of the universe as an endless vibrational energy of infinity manifested as yin and yang. When applied to the changing seasons, the macrobiotic philosophy can be illustrated as a circle of five (5) transformations as follows.


The above figure shows the ever-changing cycle of the extreme contracting yang force of winter, to the upward yin energy of spring, to the extreme expanding yin force of summer, to the beginning downward yang energy of late summer, and to the downward yang energy of fall.
Springtime is an upward energy providing a natural time of cleansing. It is the time of the year when people have more colds, flues and allergies as the body naturally tries to cleanse itself. I suggest allowing this cleansing process to take its natural course. I believe that suppressing it with drugs not only makes lots of money for doctors and pharmaceutical companies, but also deprives the body of a natural healing, eventually resulting in a worsened condition.
The liver and gallbladder in our bodies are the organs most strongly influenced by the upward spring energies. If one were to superimpose the circle of five (5) transformations onto the human body, the liver and gall bladder, which are just under the right rib cage, would be represented by the upward spring energy located at the upper portion of the circle.
We often hear of liver cleansing and liver purifying. This is easily accomplished by eating lots of sprouts and greens, which are most beneficial. You take in the energy of the sprouting plants, a manifestation of the rising energy of the earth in the springtime, and you will purify.
The purification process involves cleaning the fatty, oily, and heavy stagnant foods of winter from our bodies. Feelings of short temperedness and anger during the winter are signs of an imbalance of the liver. Frequent complaining are signs of an imbalance of the gall bladder. We are generally stiffer and move less. Even though we need the extra fat for insulation against the cold in winter, we do not need the excess. Excess usually gets stored in the liver, usually in the form of toxins, manifesting psychologically as anger and a short temper. In health, the liver is strong and vital, manifesting as patience and endurance. As we cleanse in spring with the energy of food such as dandelions, chives and scallions, we rid the body of the unwanted fats, toxins and compacted or contracted foods. Springtime is a beginning time for activation, for movement of the life force called “chi”, “ki” or “prana.”
The following predominantly upward earth energy foods help to release the stagnation we experience during the winter season and to enhance the activation needed during the spring season:
• Grains planted in late fall and harvested in the spring, such as soft spring wheat or barley, are energetically beneficial.
• Sour foods or naturally fermented foods that break down and decompose through bacteria are in effect taking advantage of the earth's rising energy and can thereby give us more vitality. These include foods like sauerkraut, quick pickled vegetables, rice vinegar and umeboshi plum.
• Newly formed greens like watercress and especially the tops of mustard greens, lamb's quarters, dandelion greens and daikon greens are vibrant in the spring. Definitely such energetic plants are beneficial.
• Sprouts, such as mung beans, alfalfa sprouts and broccoli sprouts, have a rising energy which helps us to cleanse.
• Seaweeds flowing upward in the inter-tidal pool, such as wakame and dulse, not only give us various macro and micro trace elements but also terrific flexibility.
• Sweeteners such as Maple Syrup produced from the upward movement of sap in the maple trees is best during the springtime.
As for Cooking: Light cooking, Sautéing, Blanching or Quick Boiling of leafy green vegetables with sprouts is the way to go in the spring. Try these beneficial dishes.
Nabe Cooking: This dish is always a hit as a part of our ongoing Friday Night Dinners. In a decorative Japanese ceramic or metal Nabe pot or plain old large pot with a cover, add the following:
2 –3 cups of fresh water,
A 4 inch piece of wakame seaweed,
4 chopped-up shitake mushrooms
A good dash of Nama Shoyu, a quality soy sauce.
Note: To keep the liquid in the pot hot, use a small butane burner stove.
Now chop thinly or leave whole 5- 6 of any the following foods:
Alfalfa Sprouts
Broccoli Sprouts
Chives
Flowers of broccoli
Flowers of cauliflower
Mustard greens
Scallions
Dandelion Greens
Mung Bean Sprouts
Julienne sliced Carrots
Kale
Leeks
Mushrooms
Small slivers of Napa
Deep-fried Tempeh
Snow peas
Chinese Cabbage
Green Head Cabbage
Sugar snap-peas.
Small Cubes of Tofu
Thinly sliced Squash Etc. etc.
Very fine slices of seitan
Watercress
Arrange these on a large platter with thongs or chopsticks for dinner friends to use as they dip the choice foods into the Nabe Pot of boiling hot broth. You can't get anything more freshly cooked! A terrific vitality will be received from the freshness of the upward food and the rising energy of the steam.
What a combination!
Serve with a Grain Medley:
Rinse and soak overnight 1/3-cup sweet rice, 1/3-cup whole-wheat berries, and 1/3-cup whole barley.
Place the 1-cup of grains and 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Add a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt. Cover with the pressure cooker top. Over a medium-high flame, bring to pressure.
Allow to simmer for 30 – 40 minutes.
Release pressure or allow pressure to come down slowly.
Serve piping hot with scallions or chives.
NOTE: Start the grain medley first and then go to cut the vegetables for the Nabe Cooking.
Enjoy this refreshing spring dish anytime!
For a Quick Breakfast dish, try this:
Scrambled Tofu with Pan Toasted Dulse and Quickly Pickled Greens:
First, finely chop one cup of Napa , one cup of bok choy, one cup of collard greens, and grate a carrot. “Sweat” them in a crock by kneading with 4 tablespoons of Celtic Sea Salt. Place a dish and a weighty object on top so as to press the vegetables. Set aside.
Crumble and toast dulse in a skillet. This takes about 2 minutes.
In the same hot skillet, add olive oil and finely chopped scallions or a sweet vadalia onion with chives or dill. Sauté thirty (30) seconds and then add a block of tofu squeezed through your fingers.
Stir quickly like scrambled eggs.
Serve all three immediately.
ENJOY!
David Snieckus is a graduate of the world-renowned Kushi Institute, and has been practicing Macrobiotics since 1977. His passion is to share his knowledge and experience and invoke self-awareness in others so that they may experience optimum health and happiness.
For information on Macrobiotic consultations, cooking classes, catering services (including for retreats), community dinners, and "David's Take-Out", contact David at (617) 964-2951       or davidsnieckus@hotmail.com

Amazing light in the sky today!

The beauty of Spring weather- as unpredictable as my moods!
This morning, cleaning my home to the sound of Led Zeppelin and AC DC;
just a a bit of dusting and hoovering and changing sheets can make a big difference...

after that, when all clean and tidy,fresh flowers on my nature table,

 a cup of tea and Kate Bush...

Time to do some felting (Easter Eggs)with my lovely hand dyed magic wool I got from The knitShop...so far I made these

Kate Bush 'Aerial' is in the background...


The dawn has comeAnd the wine will runAnd the song must be sungAnd the flowers are meltingIn the sun
I feel I want to be up on the roofI feel I gotta get up on the roofUp, up on the roofUp, up on the roof
Oh the dawn has comeAnd the song must be sungAnd the flowers are meltingWhat kind of language is this?

What kind of language is this?I can't hear a word you're sayingTell me what are you singingIn the sun
All of the birds are laughingAll of the birds are laughingCome on let's all join inCome on let's all join in
I want to be up on the roofI've gotta be up on the roofUp, up high on the roofUp, up on the roofIn the sun

and her words are resonating in my head as I float in my woolly space

I love March, with the cool winds and cold nights, fresh mornings, misty and creepy,
 only to reveal white fluffy clouds which then, out of the blue, reveal a most glorious sun...
to be then veiled again and again by yet more clouds.


Sunny side bright and gay and look onto the other side of the sky: black sky, rain on its way!





Wind, rain, sun and rain again...
And the flowers grow,
And the light reflects onto the wet grass,
Shiny crystals,to be turned into frozen diamonds
The night brings more cold winds
Until the morning sun makes it all a distant memory.


(Susannah Andrews)




I love this painting; find more about the artist on


http://www.taniacorbett.co.uk/flowering 

To my Sister

"It is the first mild day of March:



Each minute sweeter than before,



The red-breast sings from the tall larch




That stands beside our door.


There is a blessing in the air,



Which seems a sense of joy to yield




To the bare trees, and mountains bare,



And grass in the green field."







  ~William Wordsworth

TO MY SISTER

          IT is the first mild day of March:
          Each minute sweeter than before
          The redbreast sings from the tall larch
          That stands beside our door.

          There is a blessing in the air,
          Which seems a sense of joy to yield
          To the bare trees, and mountains bare,
          And grass in the green field.

          My sister! ('tis a wish of mine)
          Now that our morning meal is done,                          10
          Make haste, your morning task resign;
          Come forth and feel the sun.

          Edward will come with you;--and, pray,
          Put on with speed your woodland dress;
          And bring no book: for this one day
          We'll give to idleness.

          No joyless forms shall regulate
          Our living calendar:
          We from to-day, my Friend, will date
          The opening of the year.                                    20

          Love, now a universal birth,
          From heart to heart is stealing,
          From earth to man, from man to earth:
          --It is the hour of feeling.

          One moment now may give us more
          Than years of toiling reason:
          Our minds shall drink at every pore
          The spirit of the season.

          Some silent laws our hearts will make,
          Which they shall long obey:                                 30
          We for the year to come may take
          Our temper from to-day.

          And from the blessed power that rolls
          About, below, above,
          We'll frame the measure of our souls:
          They shall be tuned to love.

          Then come, my Sister! come, I pray,
          With speed put on your woodland dress;
          And bring no book: for this one day
          We'll give to idleness.  

A Sunny Sunday Spring Walk

If you click on the image below a lovely bog/website comes up!

Little Grass Doll by Jennifer at Dark Blue Dragon

What a lovely walk today : 




Started off as a grey day but gradually got sunnier and warmer.




Spring is in the air, birds are ever so chirpy, the woodpeckers tap tap tap tapping at the tree barks...




By the way I am sure we got a woodpecker tapping at something on our roof which actually sounds like a water pipe...is that possible?!!




And it is much much lighter early in the morning, the birds sing and it is nice to wake up to this sweet sound, especially on a Sunday morning as I don't have my alarm and don't need to get up for work!






We walked across Blackheath- the heath still chilli, then from the top gates of Greenwich Park, 


through the park and past the pretty yellow carpets of blooming Daffodils, 

I like all of them, tete a tete and the paler yellow ones with the orange in the middle too!

and of course Morgana cannot go past a tree without climbing it! It's the climbing disease!!!

Little monkey!

Ta - daa!

 Then we walked down to Royal Hill, then through Greenwich Market and back up again to Blackheath...


This is my favourite flower shop in Greenwich Market:

Then we bought Morgana's new SPRING SHOES!

Then, through Cator Estate- Blackheath Park Road and all the way home!
Witness of blooming trees and happy sun rays making us warm and happy!

And Morgana Has now a new pair of shoes, super cool ones ( so cool I need to have one pair too...saving money for my purchase ASAP- I will have the green ones, though I did like the JS silves ones too....mmm...I need to try both of them and decide next week!)