Under the Influence

Hollyhocks - (Sandra)

Recently my five year old granddaughter has been painting with me in the studio.  We've talked about landscapes, portraits and still life. She is a free-spirit and has her own ideas about most things including creativity and painting so it was interesting when we tackled a still life and her work was very reminiscent of my own style.  Not surprising; we imitate and learn.  We are influenced.

Pink flowers in a blue bowl  (SJ)

I wondered if "influe" originated with the idea of in-flow and yes that is the origin of the word ( late Middle English: from Old French or Latin, "inflow".  Originally suggesting "influx, flowing matter".) If you adhere to the belief that all life is vibrating energy flowing and moving, you can picture how influence may work, other people's ideas, beliefs, behaviours and energy flow to us and through us.

So when Jim Rohn famously said that "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.", I can see how that may be true or at least how the general idea of that may be true.  We are sponges soaking in our environment, what we see, what we hear, what we consume (both physically and emotionally).  With awareness we can always choose to reject and release any negativity that we have encountered, but how much simpler and healthier to deliberately choose, when we can, to surround ourselves with what we do want to absorb, what we do want in-flowing and influencing us.

Since I'm highly sensitive, I'm particular about what I eat, read, watch and how I care for myself.  I try to surround myself with beauty and to choose people who are uplifting and positive.  Does it mean that we don't reach out to those who are depressed, ill, hurting?  Not at all, we are meant to give and receive help, comfort and connection; it is important though to strike a balance and perhaps to off-set a particularly negative, draining encounter with a rejuvenating one.  Sometimes however, a long on-going, no-end-in-sight situation calls for extremely difficult decisions; ending the relationship, changing jobs, moving and moving-on.

We are all "under the influence" of our environments and relationships.  What or whom is influencing you? What could be tweaked to fine tune your already wonderful, happy life?  Or conversely, if life isn't flowing as you would like it to, is it time to make those difficult choices and  "flush" a negative influence down the proverbial drain?  

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a most positive day,

Sandra

Keeping Summer Entertaining Simple

This past weekend my husband and I hosted a barbeque for his side of the family to celebrate a couple of birthdays as well as to say farewell to a family member who is relocating to Ottawa.
With approximately a dozen people expected, my goal as always was to try to keep it simple!

At some point during the weekend, my husband brought out this old family photo of his grandparents hosting a summer meal in front of their farmhouse. 

A simple outdoor summer meal circa 1930's

Studying it I was taken with how simple, elegant and relaxed the scene looks.   A bunch of black-eyed-susans gathered up in a glass vase, the wooden chairs, the pastoral backdrop of country fences and fields.  How beautiful and serene his grandmother looks (far right).

I tucked the photo under a fridge magnet to remind myself of what really matters when bringing together family and friends for an easy summer meal.  I let myself take several short-cuts and crossed a few things off the to-do list: weeding and edging all the gardens, washing the kitchen and bathroom floors (really....people will be traipsing in and out with shoes on anyhow).  I kept the menu simple, (marinated chicken breasts, a green salad, a pasta salad and a rice dish with birthday cake and ice cream for dessert) used disposable plates and serviettes and except for barbequing the meat, everything was prepared ahead of time. 

It turned out to be a relaxing evening.  I had lots of time to sit and chat with the adults and to run about the garden with our grand-daughter picking leaves and floating them in the birth bath, playing with the garden hose and generally being silly.

Given that it was a Sunday, our guests left around eight-thirty and by nightfall my husband and I had dismantled the tables, relocated the chairs and with some help from our daughter (thank you!!) all the dishes were done.  Remembering that what lasts are the connections, the feeling welcomed and sharing time together, it is easier to let go of our need to overwork the details and ourselves. 


Thank you for stopping by My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a simple summer day,

Sandra

How to wrap up Christmas in 6 days

There are six days left until Christmas. Maybe you're fretting over not having enough time, energy or money to do everything that you would have loved to have done for the holidays. Today would be a good time to reassess your priorities and if necessary cut yourself a little slack.

I was looking at my last post How To Enjoy Christmas and had to congratulate myself (and my husband) for actually managing to wriggle out of that one social gathering that we had felt obliged to attend. And you know what? It was quite painless, a phone call and explanation that we were planning on sticking close to home and relaxing a little (versus driving for six hours for a second turkey dinner within a 24 hour period and only arriving back home at 1:00 a.m. barring snow or freezing rain). Maybe you too feel the pressure to participate, to shop, to travel, and to visit people whom ... (Don’t get me started..!.) Yes, sometimes you just have to suck it up and visit. If that is the case be thankful they're not staying with you. And if they are landing on your doorstep with suitcases in hand promise yourself that next year you will do things differently - we all have choices.

As for wrapping up the rest of your to-do list; itemize all the food items that have to be made and the ingredients that need to be purchased. Can anything be made ahead of time and frozen? It may not be too late to delegate or get another family member involved in the shopping or preparing.

Do you have gifts left to purchase? Again my first recommendation is delegate however if you are a martyr or a control freak and insist on doing it yourself, try to do the shopping in as few locations and as few outings as possible. At this point there is no point in browsing. If you find a suitable item within your budget buy it now, avoid saying I'll come back Friday and get this one if I don't find something I like better. That is just self-punishing.

Also if you are working this week it may be too late to begin making anything unless it is a super-quick craft idea and preferably something that you've made before and know that you can do it again quickly. This is not the time to try Martha's Lusterware craft or to begin to sew a quilt.

Are you hosting? Don't spend hours house cleaning. My advice is sweep and spritz. That's it, only sweep and spritz. Sweep the floors and spritz the bathroom and kitchen surfaces. If your house is messy from crafting or you've had no time to pick-up after the kids get a couple of laundry baskets and walk through each room and load up the basket with whatever will take too long to deal with properly. Find a place in a closet or basement and just leave it all there until next week. When your family come whining that they can't find their black leggings or their i-pod point them to the hidden laundry basket(s) and let them dig through it.

Caleche in Old Montreal

While it may sound counter-intuitive, do schedule yourself a massage or take a leisurely lunch time walk out of doors (not the mall!). Meet with a friend for a cup of tea but choose someone who is upbeat and positive so that you leave feeling encouraged and happy.

If you are able drop a few coins in the cup of a street person or give a little something to a charity do so. It helps them and reminds us to be thankful for the abundance and blessings in our lives.
Try to streamline this week as much as possible. Few of us will manage to have a picture-perfect Christmas but with a change of attitude we can all have a perfectly wonderful Christmas.

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you and your loved ones a most precious Christmas,
Sandra

How to Enjoy Christmas (for a change)

For years my husband and I have been trying to be authentic about Christmas and not get caught up with other people's ideas of what Christmas has to be. This year I think we have managed to do it! Here is what we did step by step:

1. Entertaining and Socializing

Decided which parties, dinners, outings we enjoy participating in.

Decided on any entertaining we wanted to host.

Decided which get togethers we are obliged to attend (thank goodness there's only one in that category!)

Decided which invitations we can politely decline.

Keep in mind that when you wish to decline you don't have to give a reason, but you can have excuses ready if you feel you need to.

2. Gifts

We made a list of who we will give a gift to.

Decided that everyone will be getting a hand-made gift and what it would be.

We didn't want the simplest easiest Christmas; we want a meaningful, authentic one. (We give a few financial gifts and those are the easiest -we write a cheque).

Decided to no longer fill a stocking for our (now adult) children. This one step alone feels liberating.

The last few weeks we've been working on our gifts, sometimes abandoning original plans and doing something else.

3. Christmas Cards

I bought blank craft store cards 5 x 7 inches and put one of my photos on the cover and wrote the inside messages. It’s simple to do and personal.

4. Baking/Food

I decided on 3 recipes for sweets that I will make. Two are already made and frozen and I'll do the last one next week.

5. Christmas Dinner

Our family does a large Christmas dinner (20 - 25 people) but each family brings part of the meal from buns to veggies and everyone contributes dessert .  We are very big on dessert, you can forget to bring your vegetable casserole, you can even forget to bring wine but you had better bring dessert!

6. The Christmas Tree

We don't have a Christmas tree. Well actually we had a little 3 ft tall house plant that really looked like a Christmas tree and I used to decorate it but I over-watered it in October and probably November too and I finally threw it away today, it was beyond hope - even Charlie Brown would have agreed.

About not having a Christmas tree - I really don't feel sentimental about the tree. I don't want an artificial one and I don't want to be sweeping up needles until next March. I now I'm in the minority but there you have it.

7. Why Christmas??

We remember that Christmas is about Jesus' arrival into our world, the miracle of his birth and the gift he offers each of us.

8. Generosity

My husband and I don't exchange gifts but find a person or family, either in our community or an organization that is in need and make a donation.

I think that's it. As I said, it has taken years to eliminate the expensive, draining, boring parts of the season and to be able to embrace what we enjoy, plus it changes from year to year. Some years I'm inspired to light up the front of our home in white lights. So far this year I have one tiny little evergreen in lights.

Your authentic Christmas will look completely different than mine. What matters is that if you are fortunate enough to have people around that you love and who love you, spend some time with them and let them know how you feel. Look out for those who have no one and if they don't have a place to be on Christmas, squeeze an extra chair around the dinner table.

Thanks for stopping by My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you an authentic day,

Sandra

Celebrate Someone You Love - Simply

Last Thursday was my dad's birthday.  Words cannot describe the love, admiration and respect that I have for this man.  He is understanding, encouraging, a gentle listener, my lifelong cheerleader.  My dad doesn't like anyone to make a "fuss" over him, he doesn't want gifts, he'd never  mention that it was his birthday if you didn't know (or if you forgot, as I did when I was sixteen!). 

To celebrate him, I was planning a small family supper and wanted it to be simple (of course) but also special.  It was a beautiful summer day here Thursday so I set up a long table on my front verandah.  This table is just an old slab door that we set on a pair of wooden (Ikea) legs, it sits eight very comfortably and ten very cozily.  A couple of off-white tablecloths that fall to the floor, a handful of daisies plucked from my garden and placed in a vinaigrette bottle. This setting, against the backdrop of garden shrubs and flowers, was simple yet elegant.

The menu was equally easy; barbequed burgers, salad and delicious lentil brown rice burgers (recipe below) for those of us who prefer the vegetarian option, and of course a birthday cake.  When you take the focus off of elaborate and often expensive meal preparations you can relax with your guests and enjoy the conversation, the laughter, stories and memories. That evening we sang "Happy Birthday" and sat around the table chatting until the sun dipped below the trees.  My husband commented a few times on what a lovely evening it had been. 

What about the special people in your life? When it is all said and done, what remains?  Really only love.  How you loved and how you were loved.  There are six months left in this year.  Could you find a way to celebrate six special people?  Could you do it in a way that is simple and sincere?  If you have found a way to celebrate someone special, send me an e-mail at sandra.myturquoisekettlelife@gmail.com and share your simple celebration details.

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have a simply beautiful day,

Sandra

Here is the recipe for  Lentil Brown Rice Burgers. 

Lentil Brown Rice Burgers (makes 8-10)

1 cup (250 ml) green lentils (don't worry - there's no soaking required!)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp (5ml)of oregano (or Italian Seasoning)
1/4 cup (60ml) of onion finely chopped (or chives)
2 cups (500 ml) of cooked brown rice
1/2 tsp (2ml) steak spice or to taste
Pepper to taste
olive oil for cooking

Put lentils, garlic, oregano and onion into a medium-size sauce pan.  Cover with water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil for 4 minutes, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Check at least 3 times during simmering, stirring occasionally; if water has reduced by too much add about 1/2 cup (125ml) (goal: get lentils to absorb water, but not burn). If there is excess water after cooking, carefully drain it off.  Cool lentils 10 minutes.

Combine all ingredients into a food processor (or similar gadget) and whirl around until things begin to stick together.  Form mixture into patties about 4 inches in diameter. 

Preheat skillet with olive oil. Place patties 4 at a time in skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until slightly browned.

Place on toasted burger buns and enjoy.  To freeze, allow burgers to cool and wrap individually in plastic wrap.