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SS

Stephanie Sugars
Welcome, dear friends and guests!

SS

Weaving a life

xox

Weaving the Land

By Carolyn Hillyer and Nigel Shaw

xox

This is a fairly quiet and peaceful time in my life.

No big events, no inner or outer turmoil…well, not much.

I sleep often, 3-4 naps daily in addition to long nights.

When awake, I have trouble focusing, so tend to read meditation-dense books.

Finally finished the Sephardic Jewish cookbook – thank heavens. Not only would I not cook any of the medieval recipes, most were a bit revolting to read, the documentation from the Inquisition was horrifying. Humans’ inhumanity to humans is always stunning. (1)

In the horrifying food news, there are reports from Tampa about their farmers markets and farm-to-table restaurants that didn’t surprise so much as disappoint. Of course, it can’t happen here in Sonoma County, right? Except those roadside strawberry stands selling out-of-season, out-of-area produce. And the math of providing so much food to so many consumers – well, it doesn’t always add up. Oh well. (2, 3)

I’m moving on in my food reading to Cooking with the Muse: A Sumptuous Gathering of Seasonal Recipes, Culinary Poetry, and Literary Fare, a lavish, heavily illustrated, heavy book. I figure it’s about 7# of thick glossy pages and hard cover. There’re only 150 recipes, so that’s some heavy lifting, lifted from my lap by a friend’s folding aluminum book holder. The poetry makes me happy. I just love thinking about food, even if my body doesn’t always love eating. (4)

It does seem as if life is cooking me (see Rumi poem that follows).

When I’m not resting or reading, I’m watching real-life TV - chicken TV, light on windblown leaves TV, green grass growing TV, sky TV, Turkey Vultures in the sky TV-TV. It’s just about the right speed for me. Chickens wander right up to me and we see eye-to-eye. They jump onto arms of nearby chairs and slowly eyeball me up and down. They tell me when their water is low, then return for more after I refill it. They fluff their feathers, beak comb, peck and preen, strut and chase bugs.

Yesterday, there was snake TV – a large gopher snake in the grass. Judy took it to the garden below my bedroom window, so now I’m sleeping next to gophers and snakes, pomegranates, roses and lemons.

I continue to undergo boiling, thanks to Focusing, my steady companion of nearly three decades. I am so blessed.

What is Focusing?

What if...

~ you already have within yourself the answers to life's dilemmas and frustrations?

~ you had access to deep wisdom at all times, for the rest of your life?

"Focusing" is a process for helping your mind listen to the wisdom of your body.

In any situation, your body is sending you information. Many of us don't know how to open our minds to this information because it doesn't follow the same logic as our cognitive mind.

We have deeper wells of knowledge within us than we consciously know.

Focusing helps to give us access to all of it. (5)

Well, dear friends, I am full as a tick and it’s time to drain. My weight is up to 102#, but it’s all in my belly now. Flesh continues to melt off my bones and I look like a model skeleton, especially my back, ribs and shoulder blades – they’re sharp. So is my tail bone.

I’ve lived with the implanted drain in my belly for over eight months now. I figure I’ve drained over 525# of cancer-caused fluid. Fortunately, Isa brings food that nourishes me. And I continue to partake of soul-spirit medicine.

I am so blessed. I give thanks for this grace. What a time!

Friends, I’m wishing you well today and every day!

May you give thanks for the broth and the boiling, the cook’s spoon and the spice of life. May you flow in the unfolding and en-joy life’s pleasures and pains.

Much love always, Stephanie

References:

(1) A Drizzle of Honey: The Life and Recipes of Spain's Secret Jews

By David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson


(2) Tampa Bay farmers markets are lacking in just one thing: Local farmers

http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to...


(3) At Tampa Bay farm-to-table restaurants, you’re being fed fiction

http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to-fable/restaurants/


(4) Cooking with the Muse: A Sumptuous Gathering of Seasonal Recipes, Culinary Poetry, and Literary Fare

By Myra Kornfeld and Stephen Massimilla

https://www.tupelopress.org/books/cooking_muse


(5) Focusing Institute

http://www.focusing.org/index.htm

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