I blinked, and when I slowly opened my eyes

Sam, Son Rey, and Jerry

Mary & Maude (95 years old)

September has almost disappeared. But we managed to squeeze in a special evening "Sam Sings Supper" lovely group of musicians comprised of Son Rey Garcia, Sam and Jerry.

Sun setting, fairy lights coming on

David, Cathy, Sharon and Jerry

I think this has been the fastest September ever. I really don't know where it went, but I am now looking at October, and the hubbie's birthday is looming. I'm not worried though, in our town we have a wonderful festival every year at the same time, which of course is usually on my husband's birthday or close enough to it.

Paradise Blues and Brews, all afternoon into the evening, laying on the grass at the old Railroad Depot Museum park. Lovely spot in town, and the music along with the local brews wonderful. We do have a big brewery down the hill from us Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico. But I must admit some of the very small breweries win my heart and taste in spades.

Karen doing a sniff over
my Nocino concoction

For example The Feather River Brewery located in Magalia, has some of the most tasty brews especially their dark brew, reminds me of Scotland.

Full plate of summer bounty

Nuts and nibbles

Good neighbours
Ted, Michael and Kim

Evening silhouettes

The music in the park begins around 1:00 and ends at 9:00 in the evening. I plan on bring a picnic, lawn chairs and some blankets. I hope BeBe is okay, but I suspect she will be better with us rather than staying at home and wondering what the heck is up.

Wendy, woman extraordinaire race car driver, artist, 
and award winning California floral designer

We had a lovely get together last weekend at our little spot on earth, lovely friends and good laughs for sure. The band was a group of fellows and it was called Sam Sings Supper, and I must admit he/they did more than that. Lovely music, talent and voices.

I made a Nicoise Salad (thank you Julia Child, a most wonderful recipe, especially the dressing) Kale & Apple salad, Mediterranean Bean salad, cold cuts, loads of good bread, artichokes & olives and hummus.

Loads of wine, beer, soft drinks, sun tea and water. I did enjoy myself to be honest, always fun to have good humoured folk over to share, natter and enjoy a warm, late summer evening. I must do it again next year. Same time, most special.

Photographs were all taken by Janet Weidel, a most gifted artist and photographer, I highly recommend her work, and hope you click on the link to view her work.

Don't Worry

if you are making waves

simply by being yourself.

The moon does it all the time.

- Scott Stabile

Here a fig, there a fig, any fig is nectar of the gods and goddesses

Kadota Fig Tree

Nectar of the Gods, well that's how figs seem to me. I have four trees, and am about to order some more. Each one is different, I have Brown Turkey, Kadota, Black Mission, Mission.  I have made figs in syrup, fig preserves, fig jam, but this first recipe is the bees knees, in fact it might be the only one I make next year.


Fig Marmalade

2 1/2 pounds figs,I used a combination of dark figs
1 pound (2 cups) sugar 
The grated zest of an organic lemon 
3 tablespoons scotch

Prep Time: 750 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes, add minutes if you are above sea level, I cooked for 60 minutes, because I'm located at 2000'
Wash and remove stems from figs, smash them open and add the sugar and mix well in a bowl.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap or tin foil,  and let figs rest overnight or at least eight hours. 

Next day pour mixture into a pot and heat them over moderate heat, stir often so figs don't scorch, until they come to a boil. 

Add lemon zest and scotch, reduce the heat, and simmer, skim away foam occasionally, until the mixture sets. 

Overnight melding

Pour marmalade into sterile jars, seal them (10 minutes in canning kettle + 5 minutes if above 2000'), sterilize them, and when they have cooled transfer them to your pantry.

Yield: 6 - 8 ounce jars, or 3 - 16 ounce jars.

I found and adapted the recipe from this recipe by Kyle Phillips

Fig Jam Simple Recipe

Fig Jam using Kadota Figs

3 pounds fresh figs, washed, remove stems
2 cups sugar
Juice and grated zest of one lemon

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1.5 hours

In a large saucepan, combine the figs, sugar, and lemon juice and zest. Bring to a simmer over medium low heat, stirring often. Cover and simmer over low heat for one hour, stirring occasionally. Remove the cover and continue simmering, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens. When the mixture gets quite thick, begin to stir constantly to keep from scorching.

Test to see if the mixture is a firm gel, not runny.

Whilst figs are cooking, prepare the jars and lids. 

Fill the jars with the hot fig jam mixture, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims to ensure good seal. Place lids on jar.

Place jars into the hot water in the canner. Make sure you have about 1 to 2 inches of water above the jars. Bring to a boil  and time jars for 10 minutes.

Makes approximately 4 half-pint jars.

Fig Preserves

Fig Preserves

8 cups firm fresh figs

8 cups boiling water

2 2/3 cups sugar

4 cups water

1 lemon, unpeeled, seeded and thinly sliced

Combine figs and boiling water in steel bowl. Cover and let stand a room temperature for 15 minutes, transfer to sieve and drain. rinse with cold water and drain again.

In large steel pot, combine sugar, 4 cups of water and lemon slices. Bring to boil over high heat, dissolve sugar. Boil hard for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using slotted spoon, remove and discard lemon. Turn down heat to medium high, and boil syrup. Add 2 cups of the figs and boil until they are translucent, remove with slotted spoon and place in a shallow pan (as shown in photo). Work in 2 cup batches, until all figs are poached. Boil the syrup until thickened then pour over figs in pan. Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 8 hours, best overnight.

Prepare canner, jars and lids.

In large stainless steel pan bring fig mixture to boil over medium high heat, stir frequently. Remove from heat.

Ladle preserves into hot jars allow 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim. Centre lid on jar. Screw down band.

Place jars in canner, bring to boil and process for 10 minutes (add minutes depending on altitude), remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes then remove jars, cool and store.

Adapted from Ball Home Preserving 2006

Winding down, gearing up and silently changing

I don't suppose I ever really wind down, I attempt to sometimes but then get thoroughly bored with the effort, sounds strange. So I might as well stay wound up but not too tightly. I do plan to include more calm into my daily hours, and really make and remember to do so, practice, practice.

I have found myself more often just sitting down, consciously muting out the self conversations muttering around in my head. The sound of the wind in the high pines and enormous oaks transport me to the beach, a soothing sound and most helpful tool from nature.

Something new I learnt this summer, was not to have conversations with myself. That this invariably lead to arguing in my head, and sometimes it would get really loud in there. I need peace and quiet, I need to take care of myself and not allow myself to be caught up in dramas.

The other major thing I learnt this summer was about anger and what it means, and more importantly how to not get angry. Here is the link that helped me "How to control anger"

No winding down is suddenly the realisation that summer is coming to it's end, and this year I managed to weather (no pun intended) the heat much better than before. I do think it was a tad cooler this summer, at least the heat didn't last longer than three continuous weeks, and of course there have been no major fires around us, another blessing. The drought though does continue and we are now into our third year, this one we had to reduce our water usage 25%, and we let two lawns just wither.  But that has been a new opportunity to turn them into more growing opportunities that are not grass.

Gearing up for a party to celebrate the equinox has been my focus for the last few days. We have a dear friend, a musician who has a brain tumour, he is losing his hearing along with some other not pleasant things. He has decided to do another evening of music at our home prior to the surgery scheduled early October. We are so happy to have him play again at our home. I shall do my part, food and good surroundings along with inviting folk to listen, natter and enjoy each others company.


Change enters our lives silently
We all see things about ourselves, relationships, and world that we want to change. Often, without any big to-do,  change happens, without us.

We lose track of time. We may worry about a seedling in a pot with our constant attention and watering for several weeks only to find ourselves enjoying the blooms it offers and wondering when that happened, and how we didn'’t notice it.

Nature, on the other hand, has infinite patience and stays with a thing all the way through its life. This doesn’'t mean that our efforts play no part in the miracle of change —they do. It’'s just that they are one small part of the picture that finally results in the flowering of a plant, the shifting of a relationship, the softening of our hearts.

The same laws that govern the growth of plants oversee our own internal and external changes. We observe, consider, work, and wonder, tilling the soil of our lives, planting seeds, and tending them. Sometimes the hard part is knowing when to stop and let go, handing it over to the universe.

Usually this happens by way of distraction or disruption, our attention being called away to other more pressing concerns. And it is often at these times, when we are not looking, in the silence of nature’s embrace, that the miracle of change happens.  (the Daily OM extract)

Today, changed happened when talking to my daughter and I was explaining a circumstance that had happened whilst she was on holiday. As we spoke and I listened I heard about being authentic, and having authentic connections. Simple things that I knew like 'hugging a friend or family member' 'randomly calling a friend' that we missed each other. The best advice was "stopping myself to respond" to things that just wind me up. I love my daughter and intelligence, her love and caring. Now there is an authentic soul. oxoxoxo love your mum (who will silently change for her better).

It's June, and I should be over the moon

Good grief, it's been ages since I hung out with myself. I have so neglected my little alter-ego. Why?  Well I got sucked into the Facebook dramas, the unicorns, sunlight shinning out of one's arse looking for tomorrow. GMO, war, destruction, murder and mayhem. Combine that with Pinterest gluttony is a recipe for time sucking voids.

I threw it in on the longest day of the year, along with a personal melt down and a resolve that things must change.

I shall inhabit my life with gusto, I shall no longer ignore or ask more than once for quiet harmony in my life. I shall inhabit myself because I must to endure happiness (sounds like a horribly lovely thing, endure happiness).

Early Sunday afternoon I trolled through recipes books for canning inspiration, and came upon the neatest little recipe from a book called Small Batch Canning. I did not have many plums this year in fact, the ones I had were badly scarred from hail, well let's just say you'd not find my plums in any grocery store. They were in fact perfect. I made Asian Plum Sauce slightly modified for my gluten free lifestyle.

But before this my neighbours Kim and Mike finally relieved my art studio of my mother in law's things, like dining room table and chairs, china hutch, a chest of drawers from the 50's, and an odd assortment of other things that just jangled my nerves every time I walked into my art/creative space. Terrible how all this stuff was deposited in my creative domain. Most have gone, though I have seen some smaller items lurking. Mike is making me the most wonderful art table from aged wood we got a few years ago, and he is putting wheels on the bottom so that I can roll this beast around in my new found space. Photos will arrive soon along with his phone number if you wish to have your own awesome table.

The sink is in, not I need to thin out some more things, and I shall be set for the cooler weather in my Tin Roof bolt hole.