Saturday, April 5 was one great day for me. It was the first day of the Regular Season of our local Farmers Market, the Cary Downtown Farmers Market. Our Market runs all year long, but many farmers and other vendors don’t come during the “Winter Market” (November through March). Thus, the first day of the … More What a Spectacular Saturday!
I just finished reading this book of essays about food and life by Alton Brown. I enjoyed it. But I have to admit, I have no idea why I read it. I got the book at the library because I put a hold on it. But looking at the cover, I knew I’d never seen … More What Is Your Horcrux Dish?
Last night I had a very special opportunity to celebrate the Islamic spiritual practice of Ramadan, even though I am not Muslim. Ramadan is one of the most sacred traditions in Islam. It commemorates the revelation of the Qur’an through a month in which Muslims shift their focus from their material world to their spiritual … More Celebrating Ramadan with Feasting and Philoxenia at the Divan Center
Today is the first day of Ramadan, the most sacred month of the Islamic religion. Like Losar and Chinese New Year and Jewish holidays, it is based on the lunar calendar, so it changes each year according to our Julian calendar. This year, it begins today and runs through March 30. Ramadan is a month … More Happy Ramadan Everyone!
I’ve often mentioned that John and Hank Green are some of my real-life heroes. I relied heavily on their free Crash Course videos when I was homeschooling. At the end of each video, John would say, “Don’t forget to be awesome.” So this Sunday morning, I wanted to share that wisdom with my readers by … More Don’t Forget to Be Blissful!
Tonight is our celebration of Lunar New Year, which is the start of the new year in some, but not all, Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, and Korea. It is the biggest holiday in China, which is the most populous country in the world, so it’s a pretty big deal. It is a week-long holiday … More Welcome to the Year of the Yin Green Wood Snake
Regular readers of this blog probably can probably guess that I’m not looking forward to Donald Trump becoming the 47th President of the United States next week. However, my spiritual tradition teaches us not to focus on what we don’t want, because that focus will only make that thing grow. As the quote above by … More Focusing on What I Want, Not on What I Don’t Want
Dear God, Please bring solace to those who have lost so much. Pour forth Divine waters on the fires now raging. Calm the fires and calm our hearts. May miracles occur in realms unseen. Give hope to the hopeless and love to those who feel none. Bless Los Angeles as she walks through this valley … More Marianne Williamson’s Prayer for Los Angeles
Welcome to the second day of celebrating Pancha Ganapati! Pancha Ganapati is a modern Hindu holiday, developed around the elephant-headed God Ganesha, that runs from December 21-25. Like Kwanza, it was created around the Solstice/Christmas/Hannukah time, but with a spiritual/community focus for each day. And each day also has its own color! The first day … More Happy Pancha Ganapati!
Winter Solstice is probably our primodial celebration. Long before any of the organized religions that we have today, people were doing things to celebrate/encourage the return of the sun. We now understand intellectually why this happens, so we don’t feel the need to request the sun to return. But it still can be a very … More Wishing You a Powerful Winter Solstice
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