A World of Inspiration for Artful Living
Just like the brilliantly colored phoenix going up in flames, bright spots of color will make your fire—either in a fireplace or a campfire—even more beautiful. There are a number of ways to introduce additional colors to a fire, including many that use inexpensive and relatively easy-to-obtain household ingredients. I’m going to show you one very basic and easy way (that yields great results). [Read more...]
When I first came across this recipe, it had a boring name–”Festive Holiday Appetizer” or something like that. But the rebirth of the phoenix from the flames is what came to mind as I read through the steps to make it. So I tweaked it a bit and re-named it. If you’re looking for a delicious, easy appetizer for New Year’s Eve or any special occasion, this just might be the ticket. And what’s more, you can consider this part recipe and part kitchen meditation. You’ll see why as we go along… [Read more...]
Quotes on transformation, renewal, and the constancy of change in our lives…
Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.
Mahatma Gandhi
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Personal transformation can and does have global effects.
As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us.
The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one.
Marianne Williamson
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I give you this to take with you:
Nothing remains as it was. If you know this, you can
begin again, with pure joy in the uprooting.
Judith Minty (Letters to My Daughters) [Read more...]
"Phoenix" by Stanley Morrison
What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.
Author Unknown
Talk about going out in a blaze of glory. That’s the phoenix. But it doesn’t end there. Not for this old bird… [Read more...]
…it’s probably cassia. And that’s the way we like it, apparently. True cinnamon comes from a tree of the laurel family in Sri Lanka. Pretty much everything we consume in the US that is labeled “cinnamon,” is actually from a close cousin, the cassia tree, which grows in Vietnam, China, Indonesia and Central America. In a blind taste test, all the varieties of cassia were rated higher than true cinnamon, which has a somewhat milder flavor.
Here in the US, the term “cinnamon” can legally be applied to both. But in Britain (those sticklers!) only the real stuff, which is valued highly for its special flavor, can be sold as cinnamon.
Cinnamon has been prized since ancient times. The Egyptians employed it in the embalming process. The oil was used for anointing rituals in ancient Hebrew, and the Romans believed it was sacred. Every emperor stocked cinnamon in his treasury. In 65 CE, Roman Emperor Nero is said to have burned a year’s supply of cinnamon at his wife’s funeral (but that may have been motivated by guilt, since he was the one who killed her). [Read more...]
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