In case you're curious, the Farmer's Almanac says 4 times a year. Holy crap. With everything else going on, this is kind of the last thing we need - planetary craziness!
The Recipe...
Tonight, I made Overnight Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding. It's a great quick breakfast, with fruit and nuts, for the hot weather we're facing. And it fixes my chocolate craving in a healthier way than, say, a milkshake....1/4 c. cacao powder (I used unsweetened baking cocoa - organic!)
5 T. maple syrup (organic, again, please)
1 t. ground cinnamon (I love cinnamon + chocolate)
1 pinch sea salt
1/2 t. Madagascar vanilla (only because my homemade isn't ready yet)
1 c. unsweetend almond milk
1/2 c. coconut milk (the stuff in the can)
1/2 c. chia seeds
In a small mixing bowl, add cacao powder (sift it, so it's less clumpy), maple syrup, cinnamon, salt & vanilla; whisk to combine. Then add a little almond milk and whisk till a paste forms. Then, add the milk (both almond + coconut) and whisk till smooth.
Add chia seeds and whisk again to combine. Cover and stick in the fridge overnight. (You can do 3 - 5 hours if you're really craving it!) After the first 30-45 minutes, give it another whisk.
Leftovers (this serves 4 (1/2 c. servings) will keep 4-5 days, but it's best when fresh. Serve with fruit, granola, or coconut whipped cream.
The other day, I also made The World's Greatest Scones - using dried cranberries and goji berries. Those were amazing. And yes, we ate them all. I made them into balls, and then flattened them slightly. Did an egg wash so they had a little crunch+crust.
That recipe will come soon.
I've been doing more cooking since I'm home more, and it's been fun. Still baking but not as much as I was at first. I still find it more healthy to eat my own bread and certainly more economical.
And, when Mercury comes into retrograde (this is the SECOND time of 2020, by the way), it's a good outlet for the frustration and crazies.
Cultural Comments...
Ok, weirdly enough, I am now addicted to Queer Eye. Yes, sometimes, it's sappy as all heck. But. There's something inherently good in this show that I find that I'm drawn to.
Even as we're looking at opening up soon (Illinois is in Phase 3, and soon will be in Phase 4, thank you) (and shut up and wear your mask...it's better than wearing a ventilator!), there's still a lot of stress. Of course the "Open Now!" people are raising heck. And those of us with working brain cells are willing to wait a bit.
Anyway...part of me wonders what the Fab 5 would make of me and my studio. And the other part says, "Hubby would hit the ceiling!" Ha!
So if you know that there's something wonky about the show, don't tell me right now. Hang on and let me wait a bit longer...
Went to a protest march, and I'm set to go to another one at the end of the month. And probably another one, if we can get it set up. This one was at one of the busiest intersections one town over. I can re-use this sign at all of them. I am definitely wearing a lighter mask though! It was really hot and by the time I left this event, I was pretty much beet red. Oh, and carrying my own water bottle would've been a FANTASTIC idea...
I find it encouraging that people are gathing. I find it encouraging that people are angry. Especially when they're angry because of the injustice and the systemic racism that we have had throughout the entire existence of our country, and which is now bubbling up to the surface now that the #MangoMaggot is in office and trying desperately to ruin this country and stay in charge as a dictator.
And I'm absolutely encouraged that the haters are coming out of the woodwork. That picture above? Someone in the news article's comments said, "Oh a bunch of unemployed losers and a fat, dumpy Karen." I'm thinking to myself, "Hey, #BasementBob -- I can hold a plank for 10 minutes...Can you?"
This is a gigantic labor pain for our country. I mean that we're hopefully giving birth to something that needed birthing a long while ago. And for all the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, the incremental attacks on women's reproductive rights, the caging of children, and the rampant xenophobia -- I think we're in a moment where there are more of us who believe that we're all human. As opposed to those who are roaring their last (hopefully) as they become extinct.
How Does the Garden Grow...
Well, the stupid tree-rats got my shrub tomatoes. They're done. Crap. Hubby is doing some research to find out how to best nurture the tomatoes we have; there are beefsteaks in the back garden and some cherry tomatoes on the deck. The lettuce and radishes just bolted. They're ruined and they're pulled out. The romaine is re-growing; we had one harvest, and we can get one more, maybe.
The parsley is inhabited by swallowtail butterfly caterpillars, and so we have to be really careful when we cut it. I've got 2 basil plants left (tree rats a/k/a squirrels).
I've been pulling the stray milkweed for weeks now. I still see not one single monarch egg on the undersides of the leaves. Bummer. But Hubby was telling me the other day that he thought our milkweed was a good 6-8" taller than the stuff growing in the forest preserve.
And I got a surprise the other day. In the front square bed there's a ton of Brown Eyed Susan, and a couple pink phlox. But I didn't think the phlox had bloomed yet.
It hadn't. What HAD bloomed was my small rose. It's a stray miniature that I put into the ground about 10 years ago(!).... Yeah, one of those ones everyone gets for Mother's Day and then they die. But this little stinker just stuck!
And this year, it decided to bloom. I didn't even remember what color it was. I thought it was yellow!
There it was, in all its glory. There are 4 petite little blossoms on this rose bush. This is the last rose bush, the only one left after a root fungus tore up the 50 or so roses I had planted.
I'm so happy to see it.
Knitting...
The other day, it was Knit in Public Day and so I sat on the porch. My porch faces "public" so I figured it was better to do that than sit in the back on the patio, right? I stayed there for about an hour and then the sun shifted to "bake" and I went inside. The curse of the west-facing front porch. Still working on the Breathe & Hope shawl and I'm kinda dyin' here... Section 6 was FOR. EVER. Yikes. I was just inert.
I did push through and now I'm on Section 7 of 10. It's moving along quicker - it's the "bars" part. I really didn't like Section 6. I made some obvious boo-boos, but I did not want to rip it out. I don't care. I mean, I care, but I don't feel like I want to take the trouble to rip it. I want to just get it done. I have a lovely tee shirt waiting on me. And two more shawls. If I can get to my LYS, which is open, for limited hours, I'd really re-do this for Xmas. I have someone in mind.
I also have two Wooly Hooligan patterns that need yarn. And doing.
Look at me doing stranded colorwork... It's a new day in my knitting journey for sure.
Random Picture...
I've been trying to zhuzh up my Instagram page for the studio so I figured what else but cute dog pics? And dogs do yoga. Whether you think they do or not!! So with my phone, I can fiddle with the pics, and I actually get lots more engagement. This picture got lots of comments and likes and hopefully will result in people viewing my Restorative Yoga class.
Speaking of which, I have managed to torque my back in the last class I taught; doing a twist. I managed to just kind of push through it. But then I had an online tutorial with my teacher; got down on the floor for a small restorative practice, and did a twist with knees on a bolster.
And got stuck. Called for Hubby, because I was on "mute" but Hubby was on a conference call. So. Managed to get myself up, sat in my chair and just finished the class in the chair. I'm not a happy camper because I have to teach tomorrow - a yoga + movement class.
It's gonna be fun.
Interested in livestream yoga taught by qualified teachers? Join us at our website,
www.just-breatheyoga.com, and click on "livestream yoga" in the upper left corner.
$10 per class payable online;
everything from senior yoga (65+) to chair, basic, flow, yin, restorative and hatha+vinyasa mix.
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