Granola Recipe experiment

5 c quick rolled oats
2 c large rolled oats/rye flakes
1/2 c corn meal
1/4 c amaranth seeds
1/4 c ground flax
1/2 c sesame seeds
1 c coconut unsweetened
1 c buckwheat
1 c steel cut oats
1 c sunflower seeds
1 c almond slivers
1 c walnut pieces
1/2 cup total of brown basamati rice +12 grain cerreal + bulgar +pearl barley soaked in 1/2 cup water +syrup jar that needed to be rinsed out. ( Harder cereals- let thm soak while assembling the other ingredients)
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp art vanilla
3/4 c oil
1/2 cup water
3 heaping tsp of plum jam
250 degree oven
Place on trays
Bake 1 1/2 hrs. Stir every 30 minutes.

4 Pm. ended up with 2 - 2 lb bags. Very tasty.A lot of fun.
Next time, less amaranth, and other small stuff. More variety.
www.turf-king.ca

A Child's Curiosity

Why? Grandpa, Why?

Children are insatiable curious. A poor little caterpillar crossing the road, or the tiny

insects like ladybugs landing on the parsley plants are incredibly fascinating.

Even though we may tire of answering the "Why" question, it still gets asked. Ever wonder why?

Do you smile at the question? Can you answer to the satisfaction of the child?

Some quotes on curiosity:

• “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers” Voltaire
• “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death” Albert Einstein
• “Sometimes questions are more important than answers.” Nancy Willard
• “Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.” Arnold Edinboroug
• “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” Albert Einstein

Dr Greene has a good explanation and a good way to answer back. (see complete article here)

He says . . .

When children begin to learn real words, the words usually don't correspond exactly to the way adults use them. Often a specific word is used to indicate an entire category or visa versa. "Dog" might mean any animal, while "meow" might mean "cat" -- but only one cat. These early discrepancies are cute and obvious -- and should be caught on videotape if at all possible. But by the time children are able to speak in sentences, it sounds deceptively like they mean the same thing we do. This happens at about the same time their curiosity, imagination, and creativity skyrocket.

They begin to ask, "Why?" "Why?!?!" "WHY, Mommy, WHYYYYY?"

I've found that, when I try to answer children at this stage of development with the reason for something, they are left cold. After conversing with thousands of children, I've decided that what they really mean is, "That's interesting to me. Let's talk about that together. Tell me more, please?" When I've connected with children and begun to spin a tale to answer this question, they've sat enthralled. There was no need to mention because, or therefore, or cause, or effect. They don't need to know why, all they need is animated attention and me saying whatever came to mind about that subject. After a brief interchange, we were both happy. Let me give you an example.

I remember when one of my own sons asked me why the sky was blue. I told him that on sunny days the sky was blue and that on cloudy days it was gray and that at night it was very, very dark. Sometimes in-between day and night, it's a pretty pink or orange. And there are cool things in the sky. The sun gives us heat and light. It's like the stars, only closer. There are planets that go around the sun, and we live on one of them, called Earth.

Notice that I didn't at all answer why the sky is blue, but I did connect with him and answer his real question. He was delighted with our interchange and I got an enthusiastic "cool," not another automatic "why?" We both won.

Face on the Round

sometimes it's the everyday things that are close by, that we may see and use often that have another facet that we can easily overlook. just more camouflage in the woods of life.

a

A pattern is just a bunch of colours, a blur if we glance quickly.

People we see at work or on our trips to the store, bank or church may be more than meets the eye. we just have to take the time, or make the effort to see what is there, who they are, why they are in need.

If we can see others in different ways, we can make this spot on the globe a kinder, more personable. A friendly face to show to those nearby.

what fun to give to others, and receive for ourselves the satisfaction of help well-given.

What we can learn about life in a garden

Nine lessons of patience and trust, growth and letting go.

By Laura Casey

CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Craig Chalquist of John F. Kennedy University's School of Holistic Studies in the San Francisco Bay Area says research shows gardening can lift depression, release stress and anxiety, and strengthen the immune system, among its many surprising benefits.

Here are "nine lessons from the garden" that he has learned through years of working outdoors:

(1) Abandon perfectionism.

"When you go out in the garden, the one thing you won't find is perfection," Chalquist says. Pests and weeds will invade even the most cared-for garden. It cannot be controlled, and a gardener must live with that.

"It's an opportunity to look at one's own imperfections."

(2) Things take time to grow.

Chalquist says gardening requires patience and trust in the powers of growth to keep their own schedule. There are no deadlines, and there is no rushing nature.

"This can be a good lesson to learn," he says. "You can take the time and ask yourself, 'What is it that's growing in my life?' "

(3) Detach from outcomes.

"When you plant seeds, you never know what's going to happen," he says. Your efforts sink into the ground, sometimes reappearing as new growth and sometimes just vanishing. Put effort into your life, he says, but realize that the outcome may not be what you expect or hope.

(4) Everything contributes.

Chalquist says the plant you think of as a weed is actually a pioneer - a hardy, fast grower designed to break new ground for ecosystems to come.

"Even when it needs to be managed, everything contributes. And we know if you repress part of a system, you often strengthen it." Every living thing has a purpose, and nothing in the natural world is wasted.

(5) Everything self-organizes.

"The ground you walk on hosts fungi that stretch over wide expanses to manage which nutrients go to which plants and trees: Earth's quiet, weblike nervous system," Chalquist says. "The wisdom hiding in the ground resembles the wisdom within instinct, intuition, the gut: capable of meaningful arrangements if we allow ourselves to trust and get comfortable with it."

(6) Things decay and die.

Chalquist says the garden teaches that some things need to go away; some old structures should decline. Many can become compost for new forms of growth.

"It is a time where you can ask yourself, 'What is dying in my life? What needs to go away?' "

(7) Trust the senses.

When you taste something that grows in the garden and it's bitter, you spit it out.

"The garden teaches me that there are things my body doesn't find nutritious and that I should not let it into my system," Chalquist says.

You may have people in your life who are like a sour fruit or a bitter herb. If they are tearing you down psychologically, remove them from your life, he says.

(8) Nature has multiple ways of doing things.

With pollination, if there are not enough bees, then wasps, moths, and other creatures pick up the slack.

"In any given ecosystem, there are multiple ways of getting things done," Chalquist says. "If we want a community or nation to really work, these one-size-fits-all solutions aren't going to be the right ones."

(9) Nature bats first and last.

Chalquist says the living world will have the last say after you are done with it. Despite all of our anxiety and doubt, loneliness and uncertainty, the forces of life and the cycles of seasons always have us firmly in hand.

Relazing in a Hammock

I was trying to type "relaxing" but hit the "z" instead of the "x". So, is "relazing" the same as "relaxing?"

It's only a difference of one letter away. . . or maybe two, depending on the point of view.

www.hamilton.turfking.ca

Empty Containers & Pita Bread

A few years ago, we were in San Juan Capistrano ago visiting an classmate from Kingsway College Days. While there, Saleem and Phyllis took us to visit the monastery where the swallow return each year. Saleem, a mathematician is originally from Egypt. Phyllis had learned how to make pita bread, and we spent one evening helping and learning. When the dough is placed in the oven, it puffs up like a giant ball. Today, while warming a tortilla in our toaster oven, it also puffed up (although not to a globe-the toaster didn’t have that much room.) Wonder if these breads, or bread-making are similar.

One of the greatest accomplishments in life is the completion of a project, be it big or small. And when it is something that has not progressed for a while.

So for breakfast, a toasted tortilla with the last of the Red Pepper and Peach Chutney that Darrel and Karen brought us from the Horseshoe Valley Trading Company in Craighurst, Ontario. (Ingredients: Sweet and Hot Red Peppers, Peaches, Sugar, Vinegar, Lemon, Ginger, Spices.)

Tastes great and the feeling of accomplishment- the emptying of a container in the fridge.