The November Curse and My Dream Bathtub

It never fails. Every November since we moved into this house seventeen and a half years ago, something major breaks down or someone in the family goes through a medical crisis. I finally admitted last year that November was not a good month for the Turner Family. Three weeks into this month nothing broke down and no one went into the hospital, so I thought maybe we could make it through this month with no catastrophes. I was wrong.

As I sit here typing, with the aroma of the roasting turkey filling the air, we have no use of the plumbing in our house. My husband got home yesterday and both bathrooms backed up, toilets, sink and bathtub. The plumber came out and my husband helped him so we wouldn't have to pay as much. We thought the problem was solved. After my son took his shower, the tub wouldn't drain. Then the toilets started to back up again. So we're waiting for the plumber to arrive this Thanksgiving day to find out what the additional problem is. Hopefully that problem won't be any longer than 75 feet into the main pipe, because that is all the warranty covers from the plumbers visit from yesterday.

There is something different this November with our current crisis. I am not pissed. In fact I feel fairly serene. When these things use to happen I would get highly annoyed. I don't know if this has to do with maturity or being where I am at spiritually, but today I realize this house is old and things tend to break down. We have the original plumbing from 1949. It is time to replace it soon. It's just a matter of being able to afford to replace the plumbing. I am perplexed why our appliances break down in November.

Perhaps this is a good thing and we'll be forced to replace the plumbing, thus maybe remodeling the bathroom that is so long overdue also. Currently our bathroom is not a place for relaxing in the bathtub with candles lit. The drain doesn't work properly, we're in a never ending fight with mold and I think one day our whole entire bathroom will disappear into the abyss due to dry rot in the floor boards. During the summer I am not as bugged by our inadequate bathroom, but now that there is more darkness, I'd love to have a proper tub that works and actually take a bath with candle light.

I need to put things into perspective. This Thanksgiving I rather deal with plumbing problems than have one of my family members in the hospital. There is an oven that works, so we can still eat the traditional turkey with all the trimmings. And I have four days off to relax and work a bit on my home creating more sacred spaces. Last week I finally found a St. Francis statue in Portland. I put the statue out in my front yard next to the bird bath and bird feeder. There is even a little basket that St. Francis is holding so I can put bird see in it. It is the little things like this that I realize that I am very blessed.

On this Thanksgiving day in the United States I wish that all have peace, serenity and joy, and that no one else is dealing with plumbing problems.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

A Very Sacred Space: Arlington West, Santa Barbara

"You don't have money to fund the war or children, but you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."

Rep. Pete Stark

I am not a political person. However with the recent veto and lack of Republican votes to pass the Children's Health Care Bill, I am angry. And I fully agree with Rep Pete Stark on his comments. He should not have to apologize. So what does this have to do with Sacred Spaces? Quite a bit, because for me a sacred space can be anything, and right now one of my sacred spaces is the job I do; I am a Family Advocate and I have seen first hand what happens to families with no health insurance.

Last weekend I took a little trip to Santa Barbara. Every Sunday the Veterans put up crosses, one for each soldier who was killed since 2003. As I was doing the "tourist thing", I happened to glance and the sea of crosses and I was moved. I wonder how much longer will this war last? How much longer will we as a nation continue to put up with this administration? How many more crosses does the veterans have to put up weekly until this war is over?

The pictures speak more than my own words. Remember those who have died in this war and pray for a safe return for all soldiers who are abroad.

Gnosis Chocolate

Hello Readers,

Two people sent me this link for Gnosis Chocolate. I have yet to order any chocolate from Vanessa, but I will probably soon. The Mayan one looks particularly interesting!

Happy Chocolate!

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

A New Twist to the Incredible Edible Egg

There was a time I thought I didn't enjoy cooking. But I find creating a dish for myself and my family to be a spiritual experience. It's also easier when I have time to cook, like I did this last weekend. Normally during the week I just grab whatever is available in the kitchen, maybe a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a bowl of cereal. But during the weekends, I have a bit of time to create new dishes. And this morning I tried a new twist to the egg, which many of you have already done before. But this is my version.

A little side note: I never give measurements out, because I figure people have different tastes and tolerance for seasonings. So measure at your own discretion.

Ingredients:

Eggs (two per person)
Olive Oil
Green onions
Fresh Basil
Minced Garlic
Cheese
Oregano
Rosemary
Thyme
Basil
Marjoram
Salt
Pepper
Fresh Tomatoes

Procedure:

Cut green onions and fresh basil. Heat olive oil in the frying pay and sauté green onion, basil and garlic until succulent. Beat eggs. Turn down heat and put eggs in frying ban, add oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil flakes, marjoram, salt and pepper. Stir. Add grated cheese and fold into egg mixture. After eggs are cooked, place on plates and put fresh tomatoes on the side of the egg dish. You can serve this with salsa if desired. Enjoy.

If you have any egg dishes you'd like to share, please do so! I'd love to hear from you.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Music Review: Brandi Carlile

I have a confession. As a child of the 1960's and 1970's I became fond of music that told a story. Jim Croce, Neil Diamond and John Denver were among my favorites. I also enjoyed Joni Mitchell and Carol King. All of these musicians had something in common, they were all storytellers. And you could understand the lyrics.

I may be a dinosaur where music is concerned, but I never really got into the heavy metal scene as a teenager and early adult. And I found the "alternative" music in the early 90's a little too cliche, although early Pearl Jam was good and I did like the Counting Crows along with Sheryl Crow. I guess I had a thing for crows back then in the 90's.

Today there is an artist that I really enjoy, Brandi Carlile. Her new CD, "The Story" is refreshing and the music is lovely. To me it's a mixture of folk, rock, ballad and country. She almost reminds me of a female Johnny Cash, another musician I am growing to appreciate. In her CD, Carlile is a storyteller. And I believe that's what has been missing in music lately, the ability to tell a story through song.

If you have any music you'd like to share, I'd like to hear your comments.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Bread Salad

One of my favorite places for shopping is "Top of the Hill" in Renton. It's a market on 4th street with fresh produce, wonderful meats and poultry and a variety of pastas, breads and cheeses. If you're ever in Renton, check this place out. It's one of the best markets with good prices on the produce. The meats a little expensive, so I haven't bought any yet. But the quality looks fabulous. And the staff is very friendly and informative.

Last month there was a demonstration on "bread salad". I never thought of creating a salad out of bread, but I tried it and it was delicious. So I bought the ingredients for this recipe and served it the next day at a party. There was none left after the party, so I assumed people liked it. I experimented with the recipe a bit tonight, and here's what I came up with. So perhaps this can go into the "Gnostic Haggis Sophia" cookbook.

Bread Salad

Ingredients:
Bread (French Bread or an Artisan loaf is best)
Cherry tomatoes
Green Onion
Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
Balsamic or Red Wine Vinegar (optional)
Oregano
Thyme
Basil
Salt
Pepper

Cut up bread, tomatoes, fresh basil and green onion and combine them in a bowl.
In a separate bowl combine olive oil, balsamic, red wine vinegar, oregano, thyme basil salt and pepper and stir. Use your own judgement on how much you want added to the bread.

Pour the dressing over the bread salad, mix and serve. You can also let it marinate for about an hour before serving.

Tonight I combined both the balsamic and red wine vinegar together. I'll let you know how it turned out. I'm bringing this dish to a potluck tomorrow.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

The Beginnings of Transformation

My husband and I worked in the yard over the weekend. We ended up spending quite a bit of money at Molbacks in Woodinville, but it was worth it. For years we've had these boulders in our backyard that was over run by weeds. Throughout this last summer we've been planting herbs and flowers to make this section more pleasant. I've taken some photos of our new flowers.

This section of the backyard has a patio area where we have our social gatherings. To the east of the patio is where we'll plant the meditation/prayer garden. Right now my family is getting rid of unwanted and dead plants. Hopefully by spring of 2008 we'll have some beds to plant flowers in. During the fall and winter I plan on purchasing some pots when they are not so expensive to enhance the surroundings of both the social area and prayer garden. For now, this is our humble beginning towards beauty and peace in the suburbs.


The blue lobelia


Pink Flowers (I can't remember the name right now, but they look pretty)


Yellow Flowers (Again I can't remember the name)


Delphia, the blue reminds me of Sophia


And my very own "Rose of Sharon". I can take pictures of my own flowers and not borrow them from images on Google.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Gnostic Recipes

After mass today, we had conversation over coffee, wine and food. During the course of the conversation, we discussed compiling a Gnostic Cook Book. So I thought perhaps all of us out in the blogosphere could share our various recipes and come up with catchy names.

One title was Haggis Sophia. Though some of the congregation contemplated after the descent of Haggis, if there would be an ascent. I've had lutefisk, but have yet to try haggis.

Anyway, if you would like to share any recipes, please do so. I know I'd like to get Marsha+'s recipe for her lavendar oil.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Blue Jay Haiku

As I sitting in my backyard and writing in my journal this morning, a flock of blue jays descended onto my pine tree. They were all squawking loudly about something or other, so I wrote a Haiku. Before I share, I believe words in form of poetry, prose, and stories are sacred spaces. Metaphors can take us to places of extreme peace in our minds. In other words a sacred space can be anything you want. It is the essence of the sacred, the material is only a reminder.

The Haiku has nothing to do with peace however, since blue jays, although beautiful, are very annoying noisy and pushy birds. Enjoy.

The blue jays squawking
Gather in their meeting place
Arguing with a passion

If you have a haiku you'd like to share, please do so on the comments.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Walt Whitman Quote

"A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books". Walt Whitman

The Last Blooms

Last night I went and cut flowers from my garden. Now that summer is coming to a close in about three weeks, I wanted to enjoy the flowers inside. This is the first summer I've been able to have both flowers inside and outside of my dwelling.

I made the mistake of putting cat mint into the bouquet. Since the cats leave the cat mint alone outside, I thought they wouldn't bother with it inside. As I was trying to take the picture, Dryad kept hopping up on the table trying to eat the flowers. I was finally able to take a fairly good picture, but during the course of the evening both cats kept trying to get at the cat mint, so I moved them over to my altar. Later Paul said he had to take Dryad off the altar. Silly me, I thought they would be safe on the altar.

Flowers bring me joy. And I can't explain why. For me the pedals are a reminder of perfect beauty that does not have to be altered. I am hoping that next year, I'll have a whole yard full of wild flowers, roses, lilies that border by lawn in the back. If you came to my yard, it doesn't look like I'd have enough flowers to make a bouquet, but I do. They are just spread out all over.

I admit, I'm making up this prayer garden thing as I go along. My dad's neighbor has this plant, Delphinia, that I had been admiring all summer long. She said she'd give me seeds from the pedals that have withered. Her Delphinia is tall with beautiful royal blue flowers, it almost looks like a foxglove, but the opening is smaller.

As summer comes to an end, I'll be able to enjoy the last blooms of the hibiscus and the dahlias. In the fall before the frost I'll plant some bulbs and clean out the flower beds for their winter rest. Then my husband and I (probably with my husband doing most of the work) will kill off our front lawn, which is mostly weeds and replant. I'd like an actual lawn to sit on a nice green small lawn when the weather gets nicer.

Meanwhile this gives me time to make a plan for the garden. Choosing the plants and flowers and the layout. During the fall and winter I can work on the inside or my home creating more sacred spaces and maybe learning to cook new recipes I hadn't tried before. The last of the blooms puts me in a reflective mood of what I can do during the fall and winter seasons.

In the meantime, does anyone have any advice on how to get rid of overgrown ivy?

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Meet the New Black Cat

Meet the new addition to our family, Dryad. My husband saw him on craigslist and called the family that could not keep him anymore. Suki (I spell Suki with an S Paul spells Suki with a T because Tsuki means moon in Japanese) and Rascal are having a really difficult time adjusting to the new family member.

Rascal seems to want to make friends with Dryad. He's constantly hanging around the new cat, wagging his tail, looking at Dryad with his big black eyes pleading with him to be his friend. All he gets in return is a hiss. Suki is busy letting Dryad know who is actually the boss and that most of the house is her territory. She allows him to stay in our room, but goes in there every once in a while to make certain he knows his place. Dryad seems to be taking it all in stride.

Dryad is beginning to venture out a bit more. He likes to hide in cupboards and on the shelf in the bathroom. I'm certain all three animals will get along in their own way soon.

Dryad has a quiet strength and is affectionate. Unfortunately we are his fourth home in his 3 1/2 years of life. And Dryad is his third name. He first began as Lester, then Q-ball and now Dryad. I think we'll do him a favor and not change his name again.

Our home seems to be the last stop for abandoned animals. Suki had two homes before she came to live with us. Rascal was put in the humane society in Tacoma and by some miracle he was transferred to PAWS in Lynnwood, where we adopted him. Twenty one years ago an alley cat we named Ebony decided that she would live with us. She stayed on our porch for two weeks until my husband let her in the house. She was with us for 17 years. And in 1995 we had Rex. He was a very sweet collie mix that had a multitude of health problems. We were his second home.

As much as I love animals, I think for now three is plenty. Animals, when they get along, add love and warmth to a home. Right now it's a little chaotic on the establishing of relationships. But as with all relationships, the animals will figure out a way to get along and set their boundary's. This should be interesting to observe.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Early Morning August Blooms

In my front yard, I've been working on this circular flower bed for the past seventeen years. Some years I have fantastic flowers that bloom from early spring to early autumn. Other years, due to my hectic schedule, it's only full of weeds with the occasional daffodil or lily blooming for a short time.

This summer, this flower bed has provided many beautiful flowers I'd like to share in pictures. When I woke up this morning, the sun was beginning to rise, bathing the pedals with fabulous light. During July and early August, butterflies, bumble bees and one lone hummingbird were fluttering among the pink hibiscus and butterfly bush. This, one might say, is my first successful attempt at a prayer garden.

Enjoy the pictures.



My little garden facing west


The last flowers of my gladiola


The pink hibiscus


Red and yellow blooms of the dahlia


The little bird bath that needs water

One of the pleasures I've had was to bring fresh flowers from my garden to mass on Sundays. It's also been nice to have flowers from my yard on my table. I'm hoping next summer that I'll have more flowers to share.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

My Sacred Morning Routine

We all have our morning routines. Whether it is waking up, getting dressed and hopping in the car without breakfast, that is a routine. The previous is my husband's routine.

My morning routine is more time consuming. I wake up and make coffee. While the coffee is brewing, I pour myself a bowl of cereal or toast an English muffin and watch about 15 minutes of the news. After I eat and find there is no major catastrophe on the highway I drive to work, I sit in my green rocking chair that has a view of Lake Washington. This is when I read my daily reader from Al-anon, write my gratitude list of ten ways I've been blessed and write two and half pages in my journal. Afterwards I get ready for work. This routine, for the most part, puts me in an attitude of serenity, peace and joy.

I would like to hear about your morning routines and rituals. The way we begin the day can be important on how we handle stressful situations or help us see blessings we normally do not acknowledge, such as the car starting in the morning and getting us safely to work.

Below are pictures of where I begin my day.










My green rocking chair where I write, read, meditate and pray.


A view of Lake Washington. What a wonderful way to begin the day!

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

One of My Altars

For the past two years I've been working with this particular altar. This altar is on the eastern wall of my living room. I've created it mostly feminine and my west wall, which I'll take pictures of at a later time, is mostly masculine. I like to have a balance of feminine and masculine around my home.

All of my spaces are works in progress. I'll always rearrange and tweak the various statues, icons and candles. I finally brought home my Meditating Mary from the Hagia Sophia Chapel yesterday. She was there a year sitting next to the Sophia. Now that I am claiming the living room from my male family, I thought it would be good to bring her home again. She seems happy to be back.

I realize that the icons and statues are made of material things. But it is what they represent is what is important to me. When I look at my Meditating Mary, I am reminded to have a mind of peace and serenity. Above my alter is a wall sconce I bought at Illuminations in Bellevue. This represents the tree of life, but it only has nine candles, not ten. However, this sconce reminds me of my spiritual journey that I am on. Towards the left I have two pictures with Asian characters, one says serenity and the other says happiness. This helps me to travel the road with right mind and attitude. And then to the right is a cross, which reminds me that I am a Gnostic Christian using all the tools available to me.

For me it's important to have things around my home that reminds me of my divine spark within. And I hope when I have friends over, they are reminded of the same thing, that they also have a divine spark within.

So I leave you with my photographs of my east wall.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea







My Altar


Tree of Life


Meditating Mary

Purge, Purge and More Purge

The first process of creating a sacred space is to purge the home of items that cause clutter and disorganization. The challenge with purging is number one, time and number two, the illusion that someday one will need that broken espresso machine because someday it will be fixed. That someday never comes, throw it out. I deal with both of those issues constantly. With going to school and working, time is illusive and during the school months I rest rather than purge. And I hate the thought of getting rid of items that I MIGHT use someday. But I need to be honest with myself, I will never use the tray you can put family photos in that has cluttered my bedroom for the past nine months. Yesterday it went into the garage sale pile.

The issue about time, I don't have a solution for. I am a firm believer that things get done when they are suppose. I listen to my intuition. Yesterday, I did purge my bedroom of stacks of paper that had cluttered my home for years. I just happened to move the clutter that were in baskets to different areas of the house. The beginning of summer all the small stacks of paper landed in our bedroom, and became a huge mountain that took a good portion of floor space. I let it sit there all summer, until yesterday. Then I took all the paper and made three piles. The file pile, the recycle pile and the shred pile. Then I spent a good hour shredding. Afterwards I felt much lighter in body, mind and spirit.

For me purging my home of unused items is a spiritual act of cleansing. In the Matrix we are under the illusion the more stuff one has the more important one is. For me collecting stuff can be an addiction where I am trying to fill a void in my own spiritual life. It doesn't work.

Now when I buy things for the home, I have a specific place or plan for the item bought. If the item just looks pretty, but I have no use for it, I won't buy it. My other rule for myself, if I buy an item, I get rid of an item. This also helps reduce clutter.

I'd like to hear your ideas and comments about your own adventures in purging.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

My New Digital Camera!

We purchased a digital camera tonight. So now of course I have to experiment with it! I normally do not write two blogs in one day, but I couldn't resist. For someone such as myself who is technology challenged, I am enjoying learning how to upload images onto this blog.

Here are pictures of Suki, our cat and Rascal our dog. I did take pictures of my yard this evening, but it was cloudy and the resolution was not all that great. I'll be posting some of my adventures in both word and images onto this blog.

In the meantime I wish all of you a wonderful evening.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Welcome

Welcome to "Adventures in Creating Sacred Spaces". This is the Gnostic's Martha Stewart/Rachael Ray on decorating, gardening, cooking and well being discussion blog.

If you've been following my other blog, "Spectrum of Light", you already know I've become obsessed with creating a prayer garden. That obsession has spilled over into other areas of my home and my life. My house occupies three men (my husband and two sons) one male dog and one female cat. We also have a fish tank, but I have no idea what gender the fishes are. There is probably a mixture of male and female because eggs keep appearing and hatching thus creating more fish. If the older fishes haven't eaten the younger fishes.

But I digress. The point is, I live in a very full house. And lately I've had the desire to create spiritual beauty within and without the walls of my home. This also includes creating sacred spaces with in body, mind and spirit. The sacred spaces we carry within can be invaluable in the chaos of this world.

I intend for this journal to become one of sharing ideas and discussion about all of our adventures in creating random acts of spiritual beauty to nourish ourselves, and to also share with the world. Even if the world does not get it.

One point I want to make clear is, I am no expert at home and garden decor. For example, when I go to the nursery to purchase a plant, I have no plan. I see something I like, I buy it and plant it. Sometimes the plant flourishes and will last many lifetimes in my garden, or sometimes I do something wrong and the plant withers and dies. It's all about trial and error and keeping a sense of humor. When we first moved into our house 17 years ago, I tried to keep fuchsias alive hanging in pots in my backyard in the shade. My neighbor Alice said they needed to be in the shade. I tried everything to keep the fuchsias alive, but they all died. My husband joked that he was going to start burying the fuchsias in yard and erect crosses. I decided that I am not a fuchsia type of girl.

Comments are always welcome on both of my blogs. Especially if you have any tips on gardening or home decor or recipes you'd like to share.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea