A Visit from Grandad

Arnold W "Pat" Marsh

 

I’m strolling around the fishing pond at one of my favorite parks on a lovely Autumn day, enjoying the turning leaves and sounds of water; watching the ducks and geese paddling around and dark green-gray turtles catching the last of the sunny days before they go into winter hibernation.  My thoughts wander to my grandfather, who grew up in the Pennsylvania back-country and was an avid fisherman who loved to be outdoors.   

For a child who grew up without a permanent home (my dad was in the Navy and we moved a lot, so never put down roots anywhere), my grandparents' homes were one of the few constants in my life.  All of my grandparents were wonderful people - very different - but wonderful!  One of the things we did with Grandad Marsh was go fishing.  He delighted in taking us kids fishing - though I know we were quite a handful – 4 excited kids in and out of the boat and up and down the banks; tangling lines, squealing and giggling while baiting hooks with worms and crawdads.  And Grandad indulgently watching, untangling our lines, keeping an eye on our bobbers, and helping us reel them in.   He would beam with pride when we actually caught something (though with all that noise and motion I’m surprised we ever did), and afterwards, we'd all troop home to clean and fillet the fish in the garage sink before turning them over to Grandma for the most delicious fish fries I have ever had.  They loved their grandkids, and I think Grandad got more joy when we caught something than anything he ever caught himself! 

So I’m walking around the pond and thinking “he’d love this place, the kids, the leaves, just being out. . .I wish he was here.”  And then suddenly, he is!  He lightly places his left hand on my right shoulder – just like he did when we’d walk together long ago - and I can feel him beside me, just beyond the veil that separates the worlds of the living from that of the dead.  Do you know how it is when you look over your shoulder and almost see someone?  Just a flash, or a faded image – but you KNOW something – a person – is there?  That was how it was with him, and as I turned I said, “Come walk with me, Grandad!  Isn’t it a beautiful day?”    “It sure is, Sweetie.  Let’s go!” 

And for a turn around the pond, we walk and talk together about everything and nothing.  Where the best places to fish are, and what he thinks he’d catch in this pond. Him laughing and saying, “You might not catch much here; those banks are low and there’s not much roots and tree coverage for them to hide under.”  “But do you remember how we used to fish from his little rowboat, or along the banks of “Neshaminy Crick?” (a wide but shallow creek in Pennsylvania behind the house where he spent most of his adult life).  I tell him yes, and we reminisce.  I share what I’ve been up to, and how much I’ve missed him, and he says how he’s missed me, but everything’s fine.  “How are those young rascals anyway?” (my kids)  “All grown up now, Grandad – and I’m a Grandma now too!”  “Really?  I can’t believe it’s been so long!”  He smiles and his blue eyes seem to tear up just a little – I know he wishes he could see them now, all grown up, and my son with a child of his own.

When we finish our trek around the pond, I turn to him and say “Well, Grandad – I’ve gotta go fix dinner – do you want to come?  I’m fixing shepherd’s pie!”  And he laughs and says, “I love shepherd’s pie.  Haven’t had that in years!  I’ll be there!”

That night I hosted a “dead supper,”  and he was the honored guest.  A “dead supper” (often called a “dumb supper”) is an old Irish and British tradition held around Samhain (Halloween / All Hallows Eve) to remember the ancestors.  A place is set for a departed loved one, and food and drink that they would like is offered in their memory.  Traditionally, the meal is eaten in silence, but Grandad always loved company, listening to conversation, laughing and making little jokes, and complimenting the chef (and of course, finishing up the leftovers) so I knew he wouldn’t want to eat in silence!   I set a place of honor for him at the table and place his picture near his plate.  I served him a little food and beer, and introduced him to my husband and nephew (who never met him in life) and told them who he was and what he meant to me.  And as we ate, I asked them to share their memories of lost loved ones too.  They do, and there is talk, laughter, and perhaps a few tears, as we remember those who are no longer with us in body.  

As I clear the table, I tell Grandad I love him and say goodbye, and he fades away beyond the veil.  But he and all of the beloved dead will always be in my heart, where I carry all of my ancestors.  Those who came before are who make us who we are, and I am filled with love and gratitude for the gifts of knowing them, and carrying on their legacy!

Blessed be the ancestors and the legacy the left us!

Catching Up!

Quoth the Raven. . .

Feeling very "witchy" this week!  Well, raven-y, anyway. . . Autumn is my favorite time of year. The summer heat is gone and the days are now temperate, though sitting on the deck in the morning now requires a sweatshirt and slippers.  The changing leaves invite me to walk in woods that are a riot of color.  The crickets and birds are quieter, squirrels are busy gathering walnuts and acorns, the hens have mostly stopped laying, and the dog and cats are shedding their summer coats and growing their winter ones.

Autumn makes me want to light a fire, bake bread and slow-cook comfort foods; and it's time to make apple dolls, and pick up the "warm" craft projects - like quilting and crocheting - that I put down at the end of Spring.   The Autumn world has a completely different feel than it does in winter, spring or summer; it's wonderful yet transient brilliance - reminds us that very soon things will be cold and gray for awhile. 

Samhain, the time when the veil between the worlds is thinnest, brings me thoughts of ancestors, both known and unknown.  Their spirits seem to whisper to me from the trees, and in the voice of the wind.   I look at binders full of genealogy charts and read the family's stories.  I put my ancestors'  pictures on my mantle and light candles for them, inviting them to come in and sit by the fire, share a meal, and be here with me in spirit just for awhile.  I talk to them a bit - just quietly - telling them I love them and miss them, and thinking about how they would answer the questions I ask them.  My Grove and I prepare for our Samhain ritual (the Celtic New Years' Eve); it's our time to remember the dead, reflect on the past year, and make plans for the future.  And of course there are all of the ordinary seasonal rituals too:  making Halloween costumes (this year, for three different occasions), collecting leaves and acorns to adorn the mantle, changing out summer clothes for fall ones, winterizing the house, and bringing the plants indoors.

These past few months have been busy, though not necessarily because it's Autumn.  I took most of August and the first half of September off to travel and spend time with family; including meeting my new grandson, who was born in Canada in early September!  Being a Grandma is a whole new thing for me, and I hope I can be as wonderful of a Grandma to him as my grandmothers were to me!  Unfortunately he's far away, but I vowed to do my best.  

In the second half of September, I spent four wonderful days camping in the Poconos with my fellow OBOD-ians and came back refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to make huge changes in my life.  Which I haven't made yet. . .but I'm hopeful that I will!

So far October has been mostly about looking for my next work gig and sitting on jury duty.  Now that I truly have an insider's view of how our Justice System works, about all I can say is "I'm glad I only have to participate occasionally, on jury duty;" "Why do some of these cases ever go to trial?" and "I'm glad it's over!" "Never again" would be nice, but in North Carolina, you can be called every for jury duty every two years.

The "Traditional Diet" I talked about last time is going well.  Since I started it about 3-4 weeks ago, I've mostly been focusing on German cooking, and have been enjoying homemade sauerkraut served with fresh bratwurst; meat pies; smoked salmon; root and leafy vegetables; and all varieties of delicious soups, stews, and sourdough breads.  I've lost about 3 pounds, and am feeling pretty well - though not exercising as much as I was a couple months ago, so I need to get back to that.

And my daily reminder that it's time to go for a walk has just popped up on my screen.  So, until next time!

Blessings,

Karen

Better Health through a Traditional Diet?

Are traditional diets the key to good health?  According to what I know about bio-individuality, they might just be!  If you don't know what bio-individuality is, in a nutshell, it's the notion that:

1.  Everyone's body is different.
2. Each of us has different health an dietary needs.
3. There is no "one perfect diet" for all humans, because humans are an extremely adaptable species that evolved to not only survive, but thrive on pretty much any diet and in pretty much any environment.
4. You have to listen to your body and give it what it needs.

Bio-individuality is based on the idea that your ancestry, family medical history, current health, environment, and a lot of other factors interact to determine the best diet for you personally.  Because we're all unique, there is no one "right diet" for everyone - regardless what the diet gurus who make a lot of money writing books about "perfect diets" say - and so what may be right for one person may be completely wrong for another.  That's why a key component for improving health through diet is experimenting with different foods and ways of preparing them, and LISTENING TO YOUR BODY to see how it responds. If something isn't working, or is making you sick, stop doing it.  Pretty simple, eh?

I love to cook and explore new flavors and for the past several years have been eating whole, unprocessed, locally grown (if possible), seasonal, and organic (if possible) foods most of the time.   I feel pretty good, but I think I could be better - and sure, I still enjoy some "store-bought" foods from time to time - but only occasionally.

I've been traveling a lot lately, and since food is a topic near and dear to most people's hearts, have had quite a few conversations about food.  One in particular with a German woman who told me her health had declined since moving to North America, really got me thinking.  She said was very healthy while living Germany and eating a traditional German diet, but when she came here, she started eating "American Junk," gained 100 lbs., and developed an autoimmune disorder that left her so sick she couldn't get out of bed some days.  She told me that when she went back to eating traditional German food, she lost 60 lbs. and many (though not all) of her symptoms cleared up.   I've have heard similar stories from people from other ethnicities and food traditions, so that got me thinking about what traditional diet would be best for me.

My ancestry is a European "stew" of English, Irish, Scots and German,with a bit of Dutch and French sprinkled in.  My ancestors came to the U.S. in the 1600's, and lived on a diet that included some traditional foods they brought with them, and some they found here and adapted to their traditional recipes (for example, cornbread and other corn products, tomatoes, peppers, etc. - which aren't native to Europe).  The European lands they came from had two seasons:  "warm" (April or May until September) and "winter," which was the other 6 months.  During the "warm" season they grew root vegetables, cole crops, peas and other legumes, but in winter they didn't eat vegetables, or only ate those they could preserve in cold cellars or by drying, salting, or pickling them.  Their bread would have been baked from native grains like rye, barley, oats and wheat - which had to be planted, cared for, harvested, dried and milled first - and would have been much easier to eat and bake into bread if soaked before use.  They would have eaten apples, currants, plums, and nuts along with game animals, game birds (chickens and turkeys are not native to Europe), the cows, pigs, and sheep they raised on their farms and the cheese, butter, and cream they made from the cow or sheep milk.  Fermentation, a key element of cheesemaking and vegetable preservation, would have been common.

Of course, what you eat isn't everything - we also have to keep in mind that our ancestors were more physically active, did not sit at computer screens all day, walked where they needed to go, and spent a lot more time outdoors and moved around throughout the day as they went about their business.  So physical activity also played a role in the good health and long lives most of my ancestors enjoyed.

So I'm going to try a traditional foods diet for awhile.  I figure - if it kills me, I'll die happy because my ancestors are also well known for delicious foods like hearty stews and meat pies, delicious cheeses, and apple cake - and if it doesn't kill me and/or my health gets even better, I might have an opportunity to watch my skinny, pro-vegetarian, fat-phobic doctor's reaction.  Who knows, maybe I'll even get her to realize that there are other things to eat in the world besides vegetables, fish, and rice!

Vollkornbrot (German rye bread) is a traditional food I'm trying right now.  It's full-flavored, heavy, hearty, and chock full of whole grains.  So far I like it best with homemade apple butter or cheese, but I'm still experimenting.  The version I tried came from Weaver Street Market, our local (mostly) health food co-op.  Their version might be slightly different than this recipe I want to try, but the ingredients are simple and straightforward - whole rye flour, water, rye berries, rye meal, sea salt and yeast.  Here's a recipe I plan to try soon!

I'm excited about this new food adventure and will let you know how it goes!

Until next time!

Karen

Cleaning out the Fridge, Part 1

Our fridge has been filling up for the past few weeks between a bountiful harvest of tomatoes & peppers, not having time to cook as much as usual because work’s suddenly gotten really busy, and spending too much time at the farmer’s market and food co-op - so today I had to knuckle down and do something about it.

I have a “waste-not, want-not” philosophy, so pretty much nothing organic (as in “once alive”) ends up in the landfill.    When I had kids at home, everything we couldn’t use right away went into our huge chest freezer.  Every few months I’d clean it out & make “freezer soup” or “freezer stew” (my kids will remember this) - but now I no longer have the big freezer, so I have to get creative!

First, separate the "edible for humans" contents from the "probably not edible for humans."  I didn't throw out the "non-edibles," because they have their uses too, but you'll have to come back next week to find out about those!

Today's "edible" efrigerator contents yielded:  formerly fresh, but now wrinkly & soft sweet peppers, slightly dried-out carrots, yellowish celery, a couple garden tomatoes, 2 squashes that were getting soft, several slightly soft onions, an overripe avocado, half a loaf of bread (from the counter, not the fridge), a couple overripe peaches, 1 garlic bulb, 2 dried out lemons and a dried out grapefruit, 6 "old" apples, and part of a daikon radish.  Here's what I ended up with.

 

Roasted Pepper Soup

·        Roasted Pepper Soup:  Red, green & yellow sweet peppers, onions, garlic, and vegetable broth.  Slice and broil/roast the peppers till blackened/blistered (about 20 minutes on High). Peel, chop and add to vegetable broth, along with onion, garlic, salt & pepper.  Cook on low.   No veggie broth?  Make some with the rest of the past-their-prime veggies. 

·        Veggie Broth:  6 small potatoes (from the pantry), 3 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 small onions, 2 squash, and a handful of parsley from the garden – add water, salt & pepper.  Cook until soft – about an hour (while the peppers cool so you can peel them).  Remove the vegetable pieces.  

Veggie Broth

• Veggie Puree:  don’t throw out the leftover veggies from the broth!  My grandmother used to trick us kids into eating veggies by running them through the blender and adding them to soups, stews, pasta sauce, meatloaf, or gravy as a vitamin booster & flavor enhancer.  If you have too much to use today – freeze it.

• Guacamole:  Puree avocado, a tomato, an onion, 1-2 cloves of garlic, salt, pepper & a little lemon juice in the blender or food processor.

• Apple Jerky:  Slice & core apples, sprinkle with cinnamon & dry at low heat in the oven or in a food dehydrator for a couple hours.

•  Peach Syrup (also works with blueberries & other soft fruits):  Slice and cook with a little water & sugar until fruit breaks down & thickens.  Great over ice cream, pancakes or waffles.

• Dried Citrus Peel (for later) or Citrus Marmalade:  Dried peels can be chopped & dried to season breads, cookies, and cakes.  I could have also used the peel, fruit and juice to make citrus marmalade. For marmalade - bring chopped citrus peel, juice, and a little sugar to a boil, cook for a few minutes till thick & let cool.  I love this on homemade corn muffins.

• Dried Out Bread:  Sometimes I make turkey/poultry stuffing  (tear it up, add some herbs & freeze) OR bread crumbs (same as stuffing, but run it through the food processor).  Bread pudding is another good option.  Tear up stale bread, add eggs, milk, a little vanilla, cinnamon, a little sugar and dried fruit (raisins, currants, cranberries, apples), & bake in the oven for about an hour. 

And there you have it - refrigerator clean, and mission accomplished!

Next time I'll talk about what to do with the non-edible leftovers.

Early Autumn

"The Wheel Turns as the Wheel Wills." (Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan).

I noticed the beginning of trees turning - just a few - last week. How the mornings are cooler, the sun is a little lower, and at night, the crickets are a little quieter. The hens are moulting, and the proud tomato plants, flowers and green plants in my garden are showing their age a bit, though still fruiting - a last burst before the dormant time of winter. The goldenrod flowers, in full bloom, practically glow in the lower sun. I hear the wind whisper, "Fall is coming" and I welcome it, for Fall is my favorite time of year.

This morning Rami and I walk our neighborhood - as we have many times before, and for many years. I notice how her steps have slowed even more since last Fall (she's almost 12 now; 84 in dog years) and I can't help but wonder how many more Autumns she'll see. Odgen Nash's poem, "On a Good Dog" comes to my mind, and I want to shed a small tear for all of us.

Yet, in spite of that, my thoughts are turned ahead to the future. I open myself to the breeze, the birds, the feel of the earth under my feet, to the sounds of crows cawing and the squirrels bustling about. The squirrels have more purpose now - less frolicking in the trees and chasing each other, and more searching for nuts and seeds. The squirrel and bird babies are grown, most of the fawns have lost their spots, and all the furred and feathered ones - along with the trees and plants - are preparing for what comes.

As the Great Wheel turns toward the Equinox, I feel the blood of the Ancients rising in me once again. My daughter and I have always called Autumn our "Witch Time" because now, more than any other time of year, the ancestors call, we feel the change of the seasons in our own blood, the tree sap, and the water that flows beneath the land. We become more aware of the ebb and flow of Nature and the elemental forces that surround and encompass us.

As the days grow shorter, yet still summer-like, my thoughts turn from beaches, salads and white wine, bright sun, heat, and green growth to pumpkin muffins, cool walks in the woods, bright golds and seasonal beer. I look forward to warm clothes, crisp afternoons, and the promise of a soon-to-be-glowing fireplace.

Happy Autumn!

Age is Just a Number

Mom, May 2014

A couple years ago my now-77 year old Mom said to me,  "Sometimes I look in the mirror and I don't recognize that old lady I see there.  That's not me!  Inside I'm young and feel like I can do anything!  What happened?"

Youthful Me, September 1980

I know the feeling, Mom.  

Today was one of those days.  Hitting menopause didn't bother me, and I didn't expect it to because I like who I am now, and have never identified myself by my looks or fertility anyway.  It just wasn't all that important to me.  Getting older is just part of life, but there has been one little side effect I'm not fond of. . . weight gain.

Yup, close to 15 lbs. in the past year, even though I've been eating healthy, whole, real foods, drinking plenty of water, walking most days and working in the garden!  What gives? 

I've always been pretty active - not "athletic" - but walking/hiking, swimming, dancing, running, and keeping moving for most of my life.  A few years ago I even trained to do a short triathlon.  (Disclaimer:  I actually didn't DO one; that wasn't the goal - the goal was getting into the kind of shape that I COULD do one).  But, that's me - I've always been more about setting goals for "personal bests," than competing with other people.   

Mom & Me, May 2014

A few weeks ago I decided to lose this extra 15 lbs. & get back into shape, so started running with my husband a few days a week.  Then I joined a deep water aerobics class at the "Y."  Since that went well (even though I haven't yet lost any weight) today I decided I was ready to run 1.5 miles AND see how far I could swim afterwards.  Answer:  10 lengths.  Not quite "triathlon" distance anymore!

Dad, Mom & a path to the sea, May 2014

So, after I woke up from my post-adventure 2-hour nap. . .I decided it was high time to fulfill a childhood dream of diving in the "deep water" (o.k., so "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" was one of my favorite shows as a kid - yup, I was a weird kid :-) and getting my dive (as in SCUBA) certification before my next birthday.  I have always loved the sea & since I was a "Navy Brat," got to spend many happy years in it, on it, or near it.  Snorkeling is fun, but I'm ready to find out how it compares to my Dream of the Deep!

And off I go!

Karen