Gifts from Oregon

Look at this beautiful personalized Critter Farm birthday card! Just wow!

About a week after my birthday, I received a package in the mail postmarked Oregon. It was from my blog friend Danni, Farmgirl dk of Critter Farm. She had mentioned via email that she would be sending me a little something in honor of my birthday. So I kept a watchful eye on my mailbox.

It arrived at exactly the right time. I was having a bad day, feeling tired and not having much of anything go well. Then this package arrived from Danni. It perked me right up. A friend reaching across the miles to wish me happiness. So wonderful to have friends like this.

So I opened the box to find this dried flower lying atop the packing paper:


Not sure what kind of flower it is, but I was pleased to have a bit of Oregon's nature sent to me. I am saving the seed head and will plant the seeds to grow Oregon flowers of my own. How cool.

Underneath the packing paper I found two colorfully wrapped gifts:

Such cute wrapping paper. I especially like the one with the farm animals


I loved the wrapping paper. I saved the one with the farm animals on it and have shown it to everyone who has come into my home since I received the gifts. It's so Critter Farm. Such attention to the details makes the gifts even more special.

So what was inside the pretty papers? Totally cool gifts, that's what!

Totally cool gifts!

A custom made card, soft & chewy gummi bears and a great book that Danni tells me is one of her favorites. The title is "Peace at Heart" by Barbara Drake. The author has a farm in Oregon and she wrote about her experiences there. I haven't read very much of it yet, as I seldom sit down long enough to read these days, but what I've read so far has really pulled me in. Once I start reading a chapter, I can't seem to put it down till I finish it.

These gifts were perfect. And they arrived with perfect timing. A hand of friendship reaching out to me across the miles making a positive difference in my life. Thank you for your gifts Danni. You made my day so much brighter.

The book will continue to brighten my days. The gummis, well, they were half gone mere minutes after I received them. They are no more. Poor little gummis. All gone now.


Yummi Gummis! So soft & chewy.

I am thankful that I have such good friends.


© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Happy Birthday to Me ~ A Belated Report

Look at those cool wavy neon candles! Love 'em!

So this birthday post is belated. Maybe I am moving more slowly since I turned 50. Oh well, here are the highlights of the big "five-oh" last month. It was a good day.

We had my birthday party and "cake ceremony" at Jack's home. This is how it looked when I walked in:

Helium Balloons and Piles 'o Presents!

I was seated at the table and then Jack brought in the flaming cake. The guys were singing the Happy Birthday song to me, so maybe that accounted for the dorky look on Jack's face in this photo (or maybe he just looked dorky):

Jack and the birthday cake he made ~ chocolate, of course



So here's the flaming cake:(Bob was standing by with a fire extinguisher, just in case)

Beautiful cake! Dangerous flames.


Here's me just after I blew out all the candles (Jack wasn't quite quick enough with the camera):

Sort of looks like I am praying (or saying my mantra)

We saved the cake eating for after dinner and I went on to open that stack of gifts, but apparently I didn't take any pictures of that part of the celebration. I loved all of my gifts. The guys did a great job on wrapping and gifting.

We went out to dinner at our local Japanese restaurant a few miles away. We usually sit at the sushi bar or get a table in the dining room, but this time we decided to sit at the teppan yaki table where the chef cooks our food in front of us while entertaining us with a performance, "Benihana" style.

We started with drinks:

I had saki and hot green tea ~ in separate cups

Jack had Japanese beer

First course was miso soup:

Miso Soup

Then started the entertainment as well as the cooking of our meals:

Egg Balancing and Tossing!

The chef artfully sliced up a big onion and then stacked in the form of a volcano, to which he added some "fuel":

Fueling up the onion volcano

Then he lit it on fire, and boy did it flame up!

Flaming onion volcano!

The volcano quieted down and started to smoke while he turned his attention to the preparation of our main courses:

Chicken, shrimp, calamari, scallops and a smokin' volcano

Next he chopped and cooked the veggies and finished the meats and seafood:

Our dinner, artfully prepared


This was my birthday dinner plate:

Veggies, beef & shrimp

We ate until we were stuffed. I took home about half of mine. Had to leave room for some birthday cake and ice cream, don't ya know.

Chocolate birthday cake with my favorite natural peach ice cream.

All the food, the singing, the balloons, the gifts and the love made my 50th birthday a perfect celebration. My thanks to my partners, Jack and Bob, for making my special days even more special.

© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Late Summer Reflections: 50 Trips Around the Sun

Late Summer View ~ Dry & Hot


It is the third week in August. Late summer. Almost time for the kids to be back in school. Time to get in that last minute summer vacation.

Some call it the “dog days of summer”. Though the weather is still blazing hot, I know that autumn is just around the corner. Every August I realize this, and every August seems to sneak up on me suddenly as if I didn’t know it was coming. As if I couldn’t read my calendar.


Can you spy the veggies in between the weeds?

There are major weeds in my vegetable garden right now. I have really neglected it this year. I never even got most of it planted, and now it’s too late. For this year anyway. It’s just too hot out, and I have been too busy with other things to pay much attention to my beloved garden. The garden that feeds me. The garden that I enjoy so much.

The late summer season and my neglected garden seem to be metaphors for my own life. I feel as though I am entering my own late summer season, and I am aware that I have neglected many important areas of my life over the past few years.

Oh, I have been busy, not lazy at all. I always have something going on. Some project or plan on which I am working. It just seems that much of my time and energy have been siphoned off lately taking care of other people’s problems, cleaning up other’s messes and trying to find balance in my life that I swear I used to have. I haven’t spent enough time on the things that I love the most in this life. I need to focus more on the things (and beings!) that make me truly happy, that inspire me, that help me to grow and evolve my soul.



Whispering Jessie ~ My Sweet Kitty



Jack & Bob


Each August I think about these things, but particularly so this third week in August of this particular year. This is a special time for me.

Today is my 50th birthday.

At exactly 10am today I turned 50 years old. That’s the big five-oh. A half century. I am a “semi-centenarian”, if there is such a thing.

I guess I am feeling this birthday much more than I felt my 40th or my 30th. With this birthday come many things that have to do with the aging process that I don’t really like.

Physical body changes. Sleep disturbances. Weight gain. Forgetfulness and distraction. Acute mental and emotional awareness that I am not a young woman anymore. These are some of the things that I don’t really like.

The medical people refer to me as a “post-menopausal woman”. Great label. Thanks. Thanks, so much. Accurate, but not very flattering.

Aches and pains seem to occur more frequently now. Stiffness. Especially in the morning upon waking. Waking, that is, if I even get any sleep at all during the night.

I went bra shopping the other day. I really needed some new ones as my old ones were so tattered and worn. This is not a chore that I look forward to. Standing there in the unflattering vaguely blue-green florescent lighting in the department store dressing room looking at that middle aged woman staring back from the mirror at me. That can’t be me, I think to myself. I don’t feel like that woman looks. Didn’t I just turn 20, like yesterday? This woman’s body is overweight and saggy! That can’t be me. And these bras don’t fit like they used to fit on my once thin and sexy young body. It depressed me for a few minutes. Not a long time, I recovered my good mood fairly quickly, but it’s still not a fun task to shop for clothes or intimate apparel these days. Forget about bathing suits.

I need to get in shape and lose some weight. I am not happy with how my body looks or performs. I need my strength and flexibility back. It will take work, but I must do it, and do it soon. I want to feel strong, vibrant and sexy.

When I look in my mirror these days, I see my Mom looking back at me. Now, I love my Mom dearly, and I think she was a very pretty woman, but I am not ready to look as old as she was when I last saw her at age 73 (she passed away 13 years ago). I see more and more of her in my mirror each passing day. I say “Hi Mom” and walk away from the mirror.

My 40th birthday seemed like it was going to be a milestone. A turning point. My entry into middle age. But it really didn’t have a major effect on my psyche. It came and went largely unnoticed.

I remember on my 30th birthday, I sent my Mom a bouquet of flowers with a special note attached saying “Mom, thank you for having me. I love you.” She loved all flowers, and my gift really touched her heart. She thanked me over and over again. I am so glad that I did that for my 30th and did not wait, because my Mom wasn’t here for my 40th. I am glad I got the chance to thank her for creating me, raising me and giving me her love and wisdom. I do still miss her so very much. Especially on my birthday. She always made my birthday very special with her fun gifts wrapped in colorful papers and ribbons.


My Mom ~ Jennie


I think maybe that’s why this 50th birthday is making me pause and think so much. Maybe I am just really missing my Mom right now. I miss her nurturing and her acceptance. I miss her passion for life, her laughter and her love.

A lot has been going on in my life this past year. A lot of changes. A lot of responsibilities. A lot of stress. I have had to deal with letting go of things that I had been holding onto for a very long time. Letting go of some things from my childhood, too. I’ll write more about these things another time, but for now, I guess I have been a bit too focused on my own aging because of having to let go of my childhood things. All at once. With me sort of kicking and screaming to keep hold of them. At age 50. Sheesh.

I need to learn which things to keep and which to let go freely. I need to get my balance back. My joy. My passion. My zest for life. I need to look forward to new chapters in my life. My fifties. OK. If I have to. There are worse things than growing older.

I actually like my life. I am loved. I have friends. I have family. My home is comfortable and pleasant. I have plenty to eat. (too much usually!) I really do have it good. I need to focus on those positive things more often.

This milestone 50th birthday has been a wake up call for me to actively improve the things in my life that need improving and to let go of the things that are not working to make me happy.

It’s time. I have much work to do.

I will start tomorrow.

Today we celebrate and eat cake & ice cream!




Happy Birthday to me! I love you all. Thank you for being in my life. ♥

© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Take it Like a Man ~ Michelle Wright is HOT!

I've loved this song (every word of it!) since this album came out way back in 1992. It just has such a good sound. My being totally resonates with it.

I really love her style, her voice, her energy. Such depth of emotion. She speaks my heart.

© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Midsummer Harvest

Small Harvest



French Breakfast Radishes, Radish Greens, Snow Peas & Baby Romaine Lettuce. That's all I could harvest today from my midsummer garden. Everything is growing so slowly this year. Except for the weeds! I seem to be able to grow huge, luxurious weeds very well indeed.

Arrgggh!

I just haven't had the time this year to get out there and pull out the weeds when they are small and easier to remove. I know better than to let them grow big, but have not had the time to address them. I will. I really will.

So except for the berries and cherries (I will write about those in another post) and the artichokes which I posted about toward the end of "Spring" last May, I really have not had a very productive garden yet this year. Got started late and things are growing slowly. I haven't even planted some of my summer crops yet! There is still time, but I do worry that summer will be over before I can gather my usual abundant veggie harvest.

I love my garden. I love growing and eating fresh vegetables and fruits. I just need to make more time for it in my life.

I need to be at one with my garden.
Zen gardening.
Yes.






© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Spring is Finally Here!

Sweet Strawberries ~ freshly picked

My strawberries have started to ripen. I have gathered those that the birds and bugs have left unsampled. Not many so far, but very nice ones.



Artichokes!

Multiple artichokes have appeared! The most and the largest in the many years that I've had this artichoke plant. Must be due to our prolonged cold & wet weather. I am tired of the cold wet weather, but am loving the artichoke production.



Blue Irises

I used to get many colors and many blooms in my iris beds. Not so much variety in recent years. This year I have many blue and some dark red blooms to enjoy. They do add cheer to my day. You can spy some golden California poppies sneaking in there between the irises.




Spring Bouquet


I made an impromptu bouquet of Sweet Williams, Sage flowers and Lavender. You can't really see the lavender in this photo, but it's there. Really. Lovely scent and color to brighten my home.

Finally, it feels like Spring here today. Tomorrow it will suddenly be summer. Then I'll be complaining that it's too hot...




© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Country Humor

From June/July 2010 Reader's Digest magazine page 39:


A born and bred New Yorker is in the country when he sees a field of animals and says to the farmer, "What a strange looking cow. Why doesn't it have horns?"

"Well, there are several reasons," the farmer replies. "Some cows get their horns late, while others have their horns cut off, and still others never even grow horns."

"And this cow?" the city man asks.

"Well, the reason this cow doesn't have any horns is that it's a horse."