cardamom coffee

i woke up this morning with a deep appreciation of my down comforter. there is an icy wind blowing today and all i wanted to do was stay in bed. in fact i've recently started referring to this daily battle as wintertime morning syndrome, WMS. fortunately i was able to rouse myself and make cardamom coffee, which always revives me from dreamland.

i am part greek/turkish so cardamom coffee is a favorite in my family. have any of you had it? it is a divine remedy to WMS...

the scarf

it has been quite a long monday and i'm decompressing by drinking some incredible anise tea. our center was packed full of clients today. most of them were really friendly and added to the community, but we had a few members of our lobby that threw some fairly large fits this afternoon. i really can't say that i blame them though.the mountain states are being hit very hard by the recession and most people that we see daily are struggling just to secure enough food and warmth to survive. in fact i am awe inspired by the resiliency that i witness in most families that come in for services.

today i returned from lunch after some difficult interractions with families who have really reached their financial and emotional limits to find a sweetly wrapped gift on my desk. a client had knitted me a scarf. it appears that the yarn and fabric used is probably recycled from things that she took apart. this woman who literally has no material goods with which to provide for her family and who is battling homelessness in rocky mountain winter took the time and used the resources to extend this gift. i was moved. i continue to feel moved. it's funny how little things like scarves sometimes mean a whole lot.

so on that note, good night day, good night moon, hello pillow...



Photo Credit: Etsy Shop: Flora's Finest...check these out!

love note #1: lenia and jared

the sun has recently come out and i'm gazing out my office window watching the snow glisten. it's magical and i know that in a few hours when i drive home my old tires will slip slide all over the place. these sunny days following snow are enchanting, but produce black ice with great efficiency.

needless to say i'm distracted on mondays by things like my window, my email, and my knitting that lives secretly in my bottom desk drawer. i'm always looking for something sweet, whether it be a delicious cookie in our break room or a nice weekend story that one of my friends emails me. does anyone else have focus issues on mondays?

in lieu of my monday mind i am committing to bringing you "monday loveday" posts (a love story a week) at the beginning of each week. i am admittedly a sap and love sweet stories. my friend lenia sent me a particularly special one this morning that she has given me permission to share.

lenia and jared got married two years ago and moved to seattle. they are one of those couples that have a natural ease around each other even though both of them very intentionally invest and work on their connection each day. for the past year lenia and jared have been trying to get pregnant. i have been very excited about the prospect of their being a bundle of leniajaredjoy.

sadly their pregnancy journey has been challenging. this past week lenia found out from the doctor that she is infertile. this was crushing news for both she and jared. we spent time crying together. as she described it, "it's a dark and quiet time."

i got an email from lenia this morning entitled, "my kissing tree". last night while she was sleeping jared had brought a lemon tree into their house and placed it in the middle of the living room in a gorgeous pot (lenia loves lemons and trees). from each branch he hung a little note listing the reasons that he finds her incredible and why he will always be proud to be her partner. on the largest branch he hung a tag saying...the kissing post. he put pillows around the pot so that they can sit under the tree to rest, think, rejuvenate, and kiss.

i was delighted by this gesture and the thought of lenia and jared's kissing tree. hope you all have a piece of joy come into your lives today.

photocredit: missmae

wonderful world wednesdays

as 2010 begins i've been thinking a lot about all the amazing women and men in my life. this has been a tumultuous year and through it all i've really found such support and have grown so much in my friendships. although people are capable of such intense levels of cruelty, i also firmly believe that the greatest strongholds of hope in our world are found in the kind and wonderful things that people and communities do everyday.

in the spirit of these thoughts i will be highlighting someone who is impacting the world in an innovative and moving way each week. wednesdays are for me generally very difficult. i get the mid-week slump and feel the need to either flee my office desk or take a nap on my keyboard. i almost always need inspiration on wednesdays.

so welcome "wonderful world work wednesdays". i'll begin this wednesday. does anyone have people they would like to see highlighted? i always love learning about the creative ways people impact change!

photocredit: jodi cobb

basali ba a pepana

good morning world,

in a previous post i referenced this quote, but i wanted to give it it's own space as i find it really beautiful. my friend thaala's mother says this:

"Basali ba a pepana." "Women cradle each other."

In a world where women are so often pitted against each other I love to read over this quote again and again. It reminds me to be warm. It reminds me about sisterhood. It reminds me of my best friends.

teapots and ice skates

today i visited my local mountain lake, which has recently frozen over much to my great delight. i put on my new red jacket and laced up my skates hitting the ice with visions of the ice capades. it was magical, it was freezing, i am covered in bruises. let's just say i bonded with the ice. regardless of my many spills spending the afternoon in the rockies was refreshing and a great way to kick off 2010.

i followed my afternoon of skating up with a nice pot of tea. oh winter, how i'm growing to appreciate you.

embrace

2010 is here. i always shy away from making resolutions as i shamefully and generally break them during the second week of january. i have been reflecting though on how much can happen in a span of 12 months. really so much can happen within 12 days. i'm thankful for all the wonderful people and places that i've gotten to experience during the past year.

i have no concrete resolutions this new year's season, but i am coming in with three hopes.



i hope that i am able to fully embrace the new experiences and people that come into my life this year...



i hope that i can stand tall and be brave with joy...



my friend from botswana loves the phrase, Basali ba a pepana, which translates as, "women cradle each other". i hope that during this next year my loved ones will continue to cradle each other...

wishing everyone a magical new year's season!

photocredit: jodi cobb and leslie alsheimer