I’m a strong believer in rituals and incorporating them into our lives to bring us joy and to give us emotional and spiritual balance. Even more, I advocate for establishing our own, personal rituals. As Abigail Benner, M.D. wrote in Psychology Today, “Self-created ceremonies give meaning and order to our personal lives.” One of the things I love most about the Christmas season is engaging in the many rituals I’ve created for myself – rituals like visiting the lobbies of hotels and office buildings just to marvel at the beautifully decorated Christmas trees that occupy those spaces; binge-watc ..read more

This dish is made with an ingredient that I received from a local food pantry. I am beyond grateful to the people who have established food pantries where people can go to get free groceries. Why I Visit My Local Food Pantry Like so many others, I have joined the unemployment rolls due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, I am now working my day job remotely, but my hours have been greatly reduced. As a result I am able to collect partial unemployment, but I don’t know for how long. My normal weekly income, therefore, has been greatly reduced, so I really have to watch my spending. On the wee ..read more

Follow my blog with Bloglovin Numerous research studies show a close connection between our sense of smell and our memory. Why? The olfactory nerve – the one responsible for the sense of smell – directly connects to the area of the brain where memory is stored. It’s no wonder, then, that hours after walking through my fragrant herb garden I continued to be flooded with memories of wonderful Christmases past. A subtle scent….. I made a quick trip to my potted herb garden to pick some fresh sweet basil, oregano, and English thyme to add to a pot of lentil stew that I was preparing for dinner o ..read more

Like so many others, I have joined the unemployment rolls due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Needless to say, I am beyond grateful to the churches in my neighborhood that have established food pantries where I can go to get free groceries – it helps me make ends meet. Different Food Each Week I’m always pleasantly surprised by the different food items I receive each week, and I’ve become increasingly skilled at creating delectable recipes with them as the main ingredients. Here’s my newest one! Print Fruit and Yogurt Breakfast Crunch A quick and easy to prepare nutritious breakfast that's both cr ..read more

I’d never heard of them before I walked up on some at my local home and garden center last year. I read the information tag on one them, and I discovered that the flowers start out as one color and then gradually change to another. They’d been reduced…. It was the end of the summer season, and there were gallon pots of them in the clearance section. They’d been reduced from $24.99 to $5.00. So, I bought one. I figured, “If this is a gimmick, then I’m only out $5.00, but I’ll have another hydrangea.” (If you don’t know by now, I love hydrangea.) I watched it closely…. This variety of hydr ..read more

Less expensive and more time saving….. Perennial gardening, in the long run, is a less expensive and more time saving way to add years of beautiful plant life to your surroundings. Perennials are those plants that don’t die after one growing season. Instead, they go into a resting, or dormant, phase during which the tops of the plants die down to the ground, but their underground roots are still alive. They regrow in the spring – bigger and more beautiful. Unlike annuals, perennials are money savers, because you only need to buy them once to enjoy years of their beauty. Annuals die complete ..read more

Akasi is one of several West African names given to girl babies born on the first day of the week. It is so fitting that I was born on a Sunday – born to be given this name – because it is my favorite day of the week. For as long as I can remember, going all the way back to my childhood, Sunday has been my day of escape from the monotony and tasks of both home life and work life. I escape with abandon. Whenever I have a Sunday free of obligations I call it a Mindful Sunday. In the Present Moment Read a good book. On Mindful Sundays I devote all of my attention to whatever is happening in the p ..read more