I Never Sang for My Father

It is coming up on one year since daddy went to be with G-d. There is nothing profound I can say to all the ones I know who are hurting and torn apart - or are grieving the loss of a loved one or of love itself… except to say I understand - in my own way - in my own world. I dig deeply into Scriptures for comfort - for Truth. I trust in the Truth of the Scriptures when I am flying ‘blind’. When nothing in my real world lines up - the Scriptures are still True to set my paths straight ~ to keep me flying level.

Loss is a great teacher, though a strict master. Very uplifiting are our animals, I take my dog for a run. GaZi, Picken and Alle are truly G-d’s gfits and teachers. . I look up at the deep blue sky and count the clouds floating in it. I admire the leaves turning red and gold.

Grief is one of the most difficult phases that we have to go through. The initial loss of a loved one is indescribable, but as time goes by and life gets back to normal, we have to figure out how to live it without them. It’s painful, and some days it seems like we’ll never get better. But sooner or later we do, and the timetable is different for everyone. But a time will come when we will be able to think of the lost loved without sadness. The thoughts will make us smile with wonderful memories.

My description of how the healing works is: At first, it feels like there is a hole in your heart where that person used to be. As the healing progresses, the hole remains, but its rough edges seem to become smoother. There will always be a place for them in your heart, but it just won’t hurt so much. Through the death of a loved one I have learned to treasure memories of them. I have learned to step into those memories and feel the love there.

We don’t leave them behind. They will live in our hearts and our memories. Through the stories we tell, we keep their spirit alive. Losing some one you love is often the hardest thing a person has to endure, but in some small way we grow with the knowledge of their lives. It’s okay to miss them, it’s okay to cry over pictures even as the years pass. What we feel in our hearts is the imprint of the life they shared with us.

Take comfort in God’s greatness, love and strength. Many people may criticize me for this. But those who knew torment and have survived from it a better person understand the comfort of knowing someone is there listening to you, someone who understands you, all those hurts you’re going through. Someone who doesn’t judge you or condemn you, just someone who loves you and trusts you that if you will only hang in there a minute more, you shall surely make it through.

It may be quite ironic, but I have found my greatest joy in the arms of my God in my darkest hour. I felt him hugging me, comforting me, crying with me. He didn’t just watch me. He didn’t scold me and reprimanded me to get up and be strong and stop being such a fool. He cried with me. He knew my pain and he claimed it as though it were His own.

There is no pill or any kind of painkiller that we can take to prevent us from feeling our hurts. We have to bear it head on and cling to the thought that things will definitely change for the better.

With God as our guidance, as our strength He will give us that. It is His gift to us we can either take t or throw it away. For life is too precious to throw away, we don’t want to waste it, we want to let our loss go. Where we can not wallow in our self-pity for it only brings us down. We can learn something from t, we can grow, we can take it as a challenge. Where we know that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger Daddy used to say this one all the time :).

G-d invites us to walk with Him into each new day. Dad, I’ll “see you on the other side”.

On the Road Again

When we were kids little, we’d go to Sunken Meadows Beach on Sundays.

The journey from my house to the beach usually took about an hour. It really wasn’t that long considering the distance, but I was impatient.

“Are we almost there yet?” I would ask this question every 5 minutes. “We are almost there my dear.” A few of those and I could see those threatening glances through the rearview mirror.
When we are young and excited to go somewhere, we usually can’t wait to get there and we will constantly and eagerly ask when we will get there…Now we are supposed to be the “grown up”, and instead of asking “are we there yet”, this is what we tell ourselves:

* Why do I want to go there anyway?
* I don’t care if I am there or not.
* I have better things to do…

We have little patience for anything that is going to take long. We often quit half way through the journey. We often drift towards other “better” destinations.

We have no time. We have no patience.

On the road of experience one often takes an unexpected detour … or a wrong turn as it were. They’re not really mistakes. They just look like them at first glance. They are in fact signals that guide you to the hidden opportunities that lie within. If you’re making mistakes, you’re on the right path. You’re moving toward the inevitable achievement of your dreams. Took me a long time to figure that one out.

One of the biggest traps that people fall into when they want to pursue their dreams is that they go on an information overload… me included. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly prudent to do some research beforehand. For example, if your dream is to open up a sauna, I doubt it would be wise to go ahead and open it up in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

The only way you’re going to get that feedback is if you make mistakes and mistakes can only be made when action is taken. Those mistakes provide the information you NEED to get what you want. It’ll point out where you are deficient in and give you the opportunity to strengthen it. If you look at it that way, you’re actually saving time because you now know what needs to be worked on and what doesn’t. The experiences we gather from actually doing an activity rather than reading about it are different as night and day.

I remind myself constantly be it with running the B&B or riding and training our horses is that that I WILL make these mistakes and they part of the road of experience. As ludicrous as it sounds, it’s right. Making mistakes are those adjustments you make while you navigate toward your destination.

You’ll also find that each mistake you make builds off one another. You WILL definitely make mistakes during your journey. It will happen. Make no doubt about it. But they are for YOUR benefit. We can always learn something from each mistake that propels us to the next level. Each mistake builds off one another. Each mistake we make turns into an opportunity to become better

Each mistake also has the potential to take us on a tangent that we never would’ve taken had we not made that mistake, and more often that not, it’s those exact tangents that take us closer to the achievement of our dreams. I’ve experienced that so often; in retrospect, I was glad for the faux pax that at the time it happened made me anxious. None of us have the foresight to project and see how each these tangents take us closer to the achievement of our dreams. We can only see how those tangents have helped us when we look back. A classic case of 20-20 hindsight.

The point is most folks (and I include myself) don’t realize the full potential that each mistake brings, especially when you’re in the middle of it.. They want to avoid making mistakes but the irony is that those mistakes are what they NEED. They are there to help you. Make no doubt about it. Making them is a sign you’re on the right road.

Do I hear an “amen”

My Protector

A (Heavenly) Father’s Day missive.

Arms outreached, he is my protector

His heart , a wlecoming light of hope

Clutching his young in his large warm arms,

Yet in a flash, his happiness and laughter turn into thunder and lightening

Strict and strong, enforcing his rigid rules

He is Father, Light and Happy, Yet as quick as light, He can burst into an anger

A storm… but after a storm.. there is always a rainbow

Happy Father’s Day, in heaven and here on earth. Do I hear an amen?

Focused or Frazzled

Let’s see … start the laundry and load the dishwasher. And that’s before I head out for morning run and gathering of the horses for their morning feed. While those are running, put on the accounting hat, balance the books, (note to self… dont forget to throw laundry in dryer enroute to grocery shopping). After heading home, putting away the groceries, get the breakfast menu ready do last check around and last minute straightening up the house, before guests arrive.. When all that’s finished, get in a ride on either Gazi or Alle getting them ready for their next competitions. I mean G-d doesnt want me to give them up does He? My acquisitions of them for endurance and showing, respectively have truly been G-dincidences. Glancing at the watch, do the perfunctory grooming so I can tidy up, welcome guests, do do the welcome tour and fall into bed, thinking about all the things you still didn’t finish. Ah the joys of innkeeping even more so now since we’re in high season.

Sound familiar? Do you feel like all your minutes are accounted for before you even have time to think, carry on a meaningful conversation with your spouse, or relax? Rather than feeling like you actually participate in and enjoy your days, you’re being driven through life by all the things you must do?

Both Joani ’s fellowship and taking the time on Sundays for a bit of Sabbath has given me the proverbial food for thought .. In an effort to be the best innkeeper and wife or simply to serve God to the best of our abilities, we often find ourselves overcommitted, overextended. and str-r-r-retched . Is this the way God intended it? you wonder.

The truth is, God never intended us to live frazzled lives. But it takes faith, discipline, and persistence to manage time God’s way.
Frazzle = stress. And stress produces anxiety, frustration, , and crankiness.. In an effort to do it all, however, we forget what’s most important — and end up accomplishing nothing. As my DH always says “slow down to go faster”.

I’m convinced that the solution to our time problems can be found in Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”

As I consider the phrase, “all these things will be provided for you,” I think of what provisions I need — peace, stability, and energy to do the things that are necessary.The key is to filter out the things that aren’t necessary and remind myself of my ultimate priority. Jesus didn’t say, “Seek first to complete your daily to-do list, clean the inn, ride the horses and to take care of your family.” Instead, He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God.”

Seeking first the kingdom of God is the most overlooked spiritual principle today. By trying to do so many things — even good things — we often leave little time to do the best thing. I’ve come to learn that just because something serves God’s kingdom doesn’t mean that I was meant to be the multi-tasking servant who is spread too thin. Instead, God promises that He will instruct us about the things He wants us to be doing if we are seeking Him each day. 1 Corinthians 10 :31 reminds us to do it all for the glory of G-d… Be it horses, the inn.. it’s ultimately all <i>his</i>

In Jeremiah 33:3, God tells us that He will answer us if we call out to Him and seek His direction. It doesn’t necessarily make worldly sense, and it isn’t always the natural thing to do. Sometimes it takes sheer discipline to turn to God first instead of turning to all of our responsibilities.

And when I feel the stress o meter rising, I can always be found reciting a Philippians 4:13 or a Shema. THere now I feel better

What spiritual quotes help you? Either way, do I hear an amen?

Lessons from “the Frontier House”

The PBS aired Frontier House had a huge influence on our final choice to move to Montana While we were gung ho on it, watching this was the “icing on the cake” for us. I jotted down several of my favorite quotes from the show so I could post them here. If you’ve never watched it, I highly encourage you to do so. To recap, the three-part series takes three families and exposes them to what it was like to live on a homestead in 1883 Montana. They spare no one from the vagaries of 19th century living for six months. A homesteading dream? Or lots of quibbling?

The thing that’s amazing is how… really a twenty-first century woman isn’t preoccupied with her covering up her body, but she is very preoccupied with putting on the makeup and putting on a mask to hide behind…
Gordon Clune

Four foot by about twelve or fifteen foot. It wouldn’t even fit the books in our house.
Mark Glenn, speaking of their Prairie Schooner wagon

Neighboring is a lost art in our society. We’re such a mobile culture, it’s rare to really get to know your neighbors or invest any great deal of energy into the art of neighboring.
Nate Brooks

I feel like I’m growing up a lot here because like before like if I was in Temecula or California or wherever I used to live like I wouldn’t do anything. I would just sit on my butt and watch TV and I was just a lazy person. But like now that I’m actually doing work I feel like a better person. Like you know I’m actually doing something to help other people.
Tracy Clune

The following quotes are reflections made by the people about two months after they return to normal life.

In modern life there’s almost too much to choose from so I’m not really sure what to do… We could do anything. We could get a Masters in anything and recreate ourselves and become anything, make any amount of money, have any amount of kids. It’s overwhelming. You know, I’m not sure exactly which one to pick.
Kristen Brooks

You’re a man or a woman working hard in the twenty-first century and your kids don’t know what it is that you do. It’s seamless. They’re isolated from it. And that’s sad… I realized that more so than ever since I’ve been back. But in five months in 1883 I got more satisfaction, more accomplishment, more appreciation than I did my entire career beforehand.
Gordon Clune

I think the year 2001 is kind of boring. Every day I always say I’m bored and my parents get mad at me for it. But there’s nothing to do. There’s just nothing to do here. You get kind of tired of going to the mall every day. And you get kind of tired of doing nothing all day.
Tracy Clune

The twenty-first century you’re bored because there’s so many things. It’s like you have so much stuff that you’re just bored of all of it. In 1883 you have such little stuff that it was like special to you when your mom would buy you stuff and things just for you.
Logan Patton

It’s an unnatural life that the twenty-first century offers us. I think there’s just too much. There’s too much stimulus. The pace and the noise and the…florescent lighting… It’s a bit overwhelming… Your principles, your ideals, your morals… they’re all for sale. I think there’s a lot of problems that we’re just not admitting.
Mark Glenn

People of all ages have an ongoing romantic fascination with country living. Maybe you’re one of those people who sits in traffic and daydreams of someday trading gridlock for greener pastures. Or perhaps your feet are firmly planted in the city (and you wouldn’t know a heifer from a haybale–or care to meet either one), but you enjoy reading about other peoples’ crazy adventures from the safety of the nearest Starbuck’s (make mine a double latte, please). Moving to Montana is definitely an ongoing adventure; Dorothy had it right.. .”Toto , we’re not in Kansas anymore”.

Trot on friends, trot on.

Can’t see the Forest for the Trees?

You know the old saying: “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” You might have thought of that more than once as Uncle Sam just finisihed (hopefully) paying his annual visit. But what if it did? Would everybody be rich and well taken care of due to readily available money? Or would we still end up with rich, middle class and poor people? In the “thoughts that make you go hmmm” segment, here’s what I bet would happen if money really grew on trees:

Some People Would Take Very Good Care of Their Money Trees: There would be more than a few people who would view their money tree as a blessing and take the best care of it that they could. They ‘d get online and search out howto best grow their tree, they would water it and fertilize it and prune it. They would take care of the bugs that could eat their tree and prune it so it’d be uh more fruitful and multiply as it were. grow even more trees. These people would devote time, money and energy into their money trees because they know it will pay off. Years down the road, many of these people would have orchards of money trees and more than enough money to meet their needs.

Some People Would Neglect Their Trees: Whether it be because they are lazy or simply ignorant, there are people who would just ignore their tree and hope it gets bigger. Unfortunately, (as in when nurturing a project in your life)… with no water or fertilizer or any help at all, their trees would eventually wither up and die. Many of them will blame the tree or the ground or anything but themselves and some of them will go to the orchards of the people who took good care of their trees in order to borrow some crop. These people wouldn’t view their money trees as priority and think that they should just grow by themselves. Can you say “responsibility”?

Some People Would Want to Keep Their Trees Small: For some a big tree is a lot to handle and take care of. Some people may not want that responsibility. Maybe they grew up with small trees and that’s all they’ve even known. So they will do what they can to keep their tree alive, but small and manageable so there is not too much work to do.

Some People Would Smother Their Trees: A tree left out in the elements could be in danger, so some might try to shelter their tree and end up smothering it. They wouldn’t want bugs to get to it or for it to be impacted by the weather ups and downs, so they would do something like build a shed around their tree to protect it. Unfortunately, this would also keep their tree from getting sunlight and the water that it needs to grow. Instead of protecting their tree, they would end up smothering and killing it.

Some People Would Use Their Tree Up: What could you do with a tree besides let it grow? You could cut it down and use it as firewood. You could make a wood sculpture out of it. You could make it into a swing. Basically you can use all of it to make something that will only last a while, leaving you without a tree.

Some People Would Store Fruit for the Winter: Trees are abundant during the summer, but not so much in the winter time. There are people who would save their tree’s fruit from the summer to eat during the winter when their tree is bare. Others will eat all their fruit during the summer and be very hungry during the winter. The people who store their fruit could do so in many different ways: freezing, canning, preserving, drying, etc. There are many ways to get you through a winter season. (Ah visions of the Frontier House )

Obviously money will never grown on trees. But if it did, many people would treat their money trees just like they currently treat their money. Your habits and actions determine how much money you end up having and how big your “money tree” would be. If you had a money tree, how would you treat it?

Can you see the forest for the trees? Thoughts that make you go hmmm.

A Testament to Passover

As we begin the first night of Passover, we can we learn from the Old Testament and God’s relationship with His people,Israel?

Exodus 19:1-25.

1. In the third month after they set out from Egypt, Israel reaches the desert of Sinai and camps at the foot of the mountain. Verses 1-2. It is often when we are in the harsh situations, which feel like a desert, that God meets with us.

2. Moses goes up the mountain. The Lord tells Moses exactly what he is to say to the people of Israel, verse 3. God is always clear about what He tells His people.

3. The Lord reminds Israel of his past deliverance. Not that they should really need reminding, given that it was only a short time earlier. But God knows how fickle the human heart is and how forgetful the memory. Are we any different to Israel? Too quickly we forget God’s blessings and deliverances. This is one of the reasons keeping a journal, of quiet times and prayer requests, is invaluable.

4. The Lord sets a condition to His unique and unfailing relationship with Israel. Often God’s promises of blessing come with a condition. as in Psalm 37:4. The condition in this instance is Israel’s obedience, verse 5.

5. Israel responded to God by promising they would obey His words. It is easy to promise this when it has not been tested. God knows this. He knows Israel needs to learn to trust Him in all situations. The same is true for us. We need to trust God even when circumstances appear to tell us it is foolishness.

6. The people needed to be consecrated, prepared and ready to hear from God, verses 10-13. Do you come expectantly to meet with the Lord, eager to hear what He has to say to you?

7. The Lord tests Israel’s obedience by putting limits around the mountain and limits on who is allowed closer to Him,1 verse 12, 21-24. God is very clear as to what the limits are. He gives the limits more than once and warns the people against trying to force their way through the limits God has imposed, v20.

A relationship with the Lord is a two way thing. God promises to bless His people. For our part we need to be ready and prepared to listen when He speaks, we need to obey His commands and abide by any limits He sets. As you look at your life and your current situation, how can you learn from these seven steps and incorporate them to strengthen your relationship with the Lord?

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Passover preparations already in progress.For where there is Passover, can matzo be far behind. A a dry, cracker-like, bread replacement that we are forced to eat. And where there is matzo, there have been people trying desperately to make it more edible. In this case, they grind it up, add eggs and make kneidlach (dumplings).

On a very basic level, matzo ball soup is merely chicken stock, oil, eggs and broken up matzo. It’s not at all impossible to make, especially if you follow this extremely simple recipe, But what it lacks in uniqueness, it makes up for in consistency.
There are two matzo ball camps: those that like them heavy and leaden at the bottom of a bowl and those that like them light and fluffy–these are the latter, and in my mind, the better ones. If you can’t find matzo meal, pulse a few pieces of matzo in your food processor until it is a coarse powder. If you can’t find matzo, well, you obviously do not live in New York City. - But yes.. we did find it here   These would make bubbe (grandma) proud. Okay, we’re hungry. Genug shane! (Enough already!)

Matzo Ball Soup adapted from Cooks.com

Makes 8 to 12 matzo balls

Matzo Balls
1/2 cup matzo meal
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons reserved chicken fat or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chicken stock

For soup
2 to 3 quarts prepared chicken stock 1 carrot, thinly sliced
A few sprigs of dill

Mix all matzo ball ingredients in a bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Bring 1 1/2 quarts of well-salted water to a brisk boil in a medium sized pot.

Reduce the flame. Run your hands under water so they are thoroughly wet. Form matzo balls by dropping spoonfuls of matzo ball batter approximately 1-inch in diameter into the palm of your wet hands and rolling them loosely into balls. Drop them into the simmering salt water one at a time. Cover the pot and cook them for 30 to 40 minutes.

About ten minutes before the matzo balls are ready, bring prepared chicken stock to a simmer with the sliced carrot in it. Ladle some soup and a couple matzo balls into each bolw and top with a couple snips of dill. Eat immediately.

Can’t Curb my Enthusiasm

It was another incredible “train the trainer” ride with Patrick today. Gazi or Picken and I continue to teach each other lessons. We typically meet at a variety of venues and I do two loops with him. As a horse trainer, he’ll bring two horses, we finish one loop, go back to his rig while he readies the second horse as I say “second shooter”. That in and of itself is great training for Picken who thinks “she’s done” after the first loop and lo and behold, she’s off again up the hlll and onto the bench.

And like us humans interact differently with each other , so horses have different energies. Invariably, the ride with the first horse will be pardon the phrase “a horse of a different color” with the second shooter. Different energies. The first horse, Picken rated real well with, wasnt in racetrack wanting to be in the lead. Here we got to work alot on my seat and leg position which Patrick would coach when I could hear him in between the “winds of Whitehall”.

The second horse was a an Appendix Quarterhorse with just a tad of thoroughbred in her that he’s training for his wife . Kick it up a notch. Much harder for her to curb her enthusiasm. “We dont want to get left at the gate now” Here it was way more difficult for her to be behind. I noticed that I’d purposely put her in “second” position just so we could work (play?) through that. Her pace and her head would pick up. That’s actually huge for me since in the past I’d avoid that scenario. Coming down the steeper downhills she’d really pick up the pace and I thought great , you want to trot fast , let’s play with collection. Curb the enthusiasm just a bit … pardon the pun. . A great ride and always, a lesson that reveals more of myself to me. Apres ride I, we were talking about how suited to “their jobs” Alle and Gazi are, showing and endurance, respectively. The conversation turned to G-d and suffering, definitions and the lessons. During the conversation apropos of horses and the ride I had yet another “aha” moment with

It seems that your horses are almost like us — we do best when we are focused on God, much as they do best when focused on their rider. Your experience with training brings much insight to this discussion on suffering.

Natural enthusiasm is a gift when it represents inner joy.People love horses and I’ve come to understand why. They have the purest of souls and their forgiveness of our mistakes is never ending. I sometimes think they have a better understanding of the world than we do. I can still remember waking up on a summer morning genuinely excited about going outside to play. When I “grew up” with pressures and worries of keeping up in a fast pace world.. it’s easy to lose that inherent joy. Horses never lose that excitement. They remind you of the importance of enjoying things such as a warm summer morning… and they remind you to “play”. A that lesson is so important whether you’re horse keeping or innkeeping.   Trot on friends, trot on..

What brings out your natural enthusiasm ?

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Bonnie Jean Wasmund

Almost Time to Passover

Tonight is the first night of Passover. As a kid, one of the standout holidays for me was Passover - love Passover. It is one of my favorite holidays. Each year with slight variation as to locale, our family would gather together for the traditional (but somewhat abbreviated version) Seder. It was a time of celebration; remembrance and reunion.

On the first two nights of Passover, an elaborate meal is served, and a traditional liturgy (assembled in a document called a Haggadah — which means “the telling”) surrounds that meal and is spoken by the family. The Haggadah tells the tale of the Jews’ transition from slavery to freedom, and talks about what that means for people today. There are special songs sung, special prayers said, and there is room for all to participate.
Passover is a holiday that lasts for eight days. This year the first night of Passover will be April  19 .  Passover remembers the struggles of Israelites while enslaved in Egypt, the process of their winning freedom and their physical/emotional/spiritual journey into that freedom. The word “Passover” refers to the angel of Death “passing over” the houses of the Israelites during plagues sent to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. The Passover rituals are meant to make us aware of the deepest meanings of enslavement and freedom, and to celebrate our relationship with G-d.

During the Exodus from slavery, people had to leave their dwellings immediately. There was no time to cook in advance. There was no time to let bread rise. So they had unleavened bread on their journey. This is why, in kosher or observant homes, all trace of leavening is removed from the home before the first night of Passover - no risen bread, no crackers with yeast in them, no yeast-assisted fermented products or beverages. The orthodox family will even have separate dishes and utensils used only for Passover which have never touched leaven.

Each family will have their own rendition. And there are many different Haggadahs - all of which have the same major sections, but may focus the evening differently.The Sederlasts about 5 hours, and it is time spent in such zesty joy that it passes in an instant. The best times were the 20 people plus gatherings at our cousins on Long Island. Lots of laughter, lots of fun, lots of reflection and of course, great food.

Life gives us brief moments with another…but sometimes in those brief moment we get memories that last a life time…

Do you have childhood memories of magic of Easter or Passover?

Backing in and Out of Routine

You might think that a girl who once packed up all of her belongings and moved, practically sight unseen, from left coast to right coast even with a job transfer to a place where she had no job, no family, and no real idea of what she was doing would be quite an adventurous eater–always anxious to try something new, never ordering the same thing twice. And while I’m sure that girls like this do exist, I am definitely not one of them. While I love the spirit of adventure and new things, the truth is that I am the type of person who will happily fall into a very deep food rut.

The only reason I dont have coffee ice cream every time I visit my favorite ice cream parlor is because they have a rotating menu of homemade flavors, and coffee isnt always available. Ordering my first scoop of chocolate almond took several agonizing minutes of deliberation and an extraordinary amount of courage. I do not find it tiresome to eat the same dinner four or five nights in a row, and I happen to believe that one of the tastiest things in the entire world is homemade leftover anything.

These are handy qualities to have if much of your food comes from the farmers’ market or the garden, as I have come to realize that the true definition of eating seasonally means you devour something for so many meals on end that you don’t even want to think about it until next year.

At breakfast time, my routine pattern of eating extends well beyond a rut. It is more like a bottomless pit. It is a good thing Because life on a farm is defined by a never ending series of surprises, you really cannot plan ahead or count on much of anything. This, of course, is what makes it so interesting. It also means that I find a great deal of comfort in something as simple as knowing exactly what my morning meal will be for the next several months.

For a while I was on an oatmeal jag, , cooked slowly on the stove with extra bran, a handful of wild blackberries from the freezer tossed in at the last minute. A bowl of hot oatmeal with a splash of cold milk, a dash of vanilla, and a sprinkle of cinnamon made for dozens of wholesome and invigorating breakfasts

Having managed a bakery in New York, baking assorted and sundry types from apple walnut bran to zucchini carob in the wee hours of the morning, I’m also prone to muffin mania

Ah, blueberry muffins from the beloved blueberry bounty earlier this year . My ususal eco-friendly disclaimer to seek out organically grown and/or locally produced ingredients whenever possible. Organic wheat bran, oat bran, and whole wheat flour are bargain priced when purchased from the bulk bins at natural food stores

2 cups (3oz/86g) wheat bran
1 cup (5oz/141g) oat bran
1 cup (6oz/170g) whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons (12g) baking soda
1 teaspoon (6g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (4g) salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup (5oz by weight/156g) milk
2/3 cup (5-1/2oz/156g) yogurt
1/3 cup (2-1/4oz/65g) canola oil
1/3 cup (3-3/4oz/108g) molasses or cane syrup
1/3 cup (3-3/4oz/108g) honey
1 1/2 cups blueberries

Place oven rack in middle of oven and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a standard size muffin pan (I use canola oil and a silicone pastry brush) or line cups with paper liners (which makes cleaning up a breeze).

Combine wheat bran, oat bran, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside. Combine eggs, blueberries milk, yogurt, canola oil, molasses, and honey in a small bowl and mix well. (Note: you can use all honey or all molasses instead if desired.) Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined.

Generously fill muffin cups with batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool muffins in pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then carefully remove from pan and serve warm, or let cool on a wire rack.

And in the “aha how many ways can you use something” segment,are concerned with the environment or just enjoy saving money, you’ll appreciate the following tips.

Cooking: Use muffin pans when prepping for recipes such as meatloaf, quiches, cheesecakes, brownies and mini-potpies. Ingredients will be close at hand, and they won’t take up as much space as individual bowls.

Storage Great way to store items such as hair accessories and jewelry, small toys, beads, rubber bands, paper clips, nuts, bolts and screws. Is there a new year’s resolution to get organized in here somewhere??

Decor: Vintage muffin pans make great wall hangings. The cubbies act as shelves to display a collection of small things.
Gift Box : Place small items such as homemade or store-bought dishcloths, rolled-up cloth napkins, tea bags, candies or pot scrubbers into a covered muffin pan to give as a gift. - Perfect right now.
Gardening Use a muffin pan for starting seeds or growing kitchen herbs.
SNACK ATTACK: When serving ice cream, place scoops and toppings such as sprinkles, cherries, nuts and candy into each cup. The pan can also be used to hold various snacks, like pretzels, chips, cheese, raw veggies or dip.

Parties: Great idea for holding various holiday cookie-decorating treats, such as colored sugar and frosting. Come summer bbqs, add condiments and toppings such as relish, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, ketchup and mustard to a muffin tin for easy carrying and serving. You can also use the pans as centerpieces - just add votive candles.

Always an unprecedented opportunity for creativity!

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