Detoxing physically and emotionally

All I can say is thank Goddess for my husband! Although I know he often seems very silly he just sometimes has a way of going to the heart of things and saying the right thing. But really he more often goes off on completely unhelpful tangents.

This morning I was obsessing about how class attendance is down and how I'm having a hard time deciding what to do about it. I don't really feel that it's possible to keep up at the rate I'm going w/ so few students.

And here's what Rob said "so if you need to downsize for a while that's ok, you have to remember that the benefits of what you do are more than financial. They sustain a community. Remember what you're always telling me focus on the positive, focus on the process not so much on the end product" He's right xoxoxo

Anyway so I am trying to remember to emotionally detox while I'm doing my physical detox...no negativity here! : ) smile smile smile! When you have lost your smile you can find it in the...(fill in the blank) faces of the one's I love (my answer)!

On that note I AM trying to think of things I CAN eat instead of the things I can't!

here is the muffin recipe I came up with this morning:

All of the ingredients are organic and NO GMO corn!

Corn muffins
preheat oven 350*
in smallish mixing bowl put:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup spelt flour
2 tsps baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
mix together

into a 2 cup measure put:
1 egg (this is my only cheat! you could use egg replacer) beat lightly
add soy milk up to 1 cup liquid in the measure
add 1/2 cup canola oil
and 1/2 cup agave sweetener
mix together and then pour into the dry ingredients
mix quickly

pour into 12 muffin cups (I use papers in them for easy clean up)

bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned on top and dry through check w/ a clean knife or fork!

yum!!!

May Day

men avoiding maypole duty

some people will hide anywhere to get out of doing Maypole duty!

these guys are lucky they didn't end up falling on the ground!

jenn & deb wreath making experts




these captions don't match up!!!



close up on the maypole after it's wound

How the Maypole looks after it's done



friends around the May Pole! It's getting dark!

my daughter Jasmin and her boyfriend Sean

May Day is an old pagan holiday also known as Beltaine. It celebrates the arrival of Spring, and the warmth and fertility of the earth, hence the may pole. Anyway, you can read more about it on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_day
It is also an international day to celebrate workers' rights (if there are any of those any more).

Our good friends the McKanns used to have a May day party every year when they lived down here in Southern California, and they still do celebrate up in lovely Washington, but when they moved away we decided to pick up the torch and start having this annual event in our backyard. Several of our friends have attended many of these parties and are now experts in wreath making and the setting up of may poles! It's such a great time!

This year we had 5 ladies from Scotland staying here who were on their way to Tribal Fest! Here are some of the pictures from the party, you can also look at picasa for more pictures and videos of the our friends dancing and drumming too!
http://picasaweb.google.com/JazzyMadd/MayDay2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCK6cq5qCs_6x2QE&feat=email#

To do list-self improvement is the theme

#1 I've signed up to knit something long and white for the Milkweed project a giant art installation that will include work from many different fiber artists. Check this link to see more...
http://sticksandstitches.squarespace.com/the-milkweed-project-you-p/

#2 I'm doing the Master Hand Knitter Program level 1- cause you have to start with level 1... it will be good for me to do a formal certification and I like knitting even if it is a gaazillion swatches!

#3 I'm taking lots of belly dance workshops...next week I will take Rachel Brice's class at Cairo Caravan on Saturday
http://www.mecda.org/Caravan_09.html
Ariellah's workshop at the Oasis on Sunday...http://www.oasisdancestudio.net/home.html
Frederique's workshop at the Oasis in July (and dancing in the evening showcase).

#4 Watching a festival instead of dancing in it Punk Raqs on the 28th

#5 I'm starting back to school taking English 1B critical thinking (because I'm not critical enough), and Drawing and comp #2. I'm hoping to finish all my classes and transfer to CSUCI

The garden of dance, flowers, food and yarn

It may seem like I'm not dancing much right now and publicly I'm not. I'm working hard on creating new material & choreography and my students and troupe mates are seeing bit by bit. I think I really needed a break to feel like there was more to life than belly dance. The last few months have been some of the hardest in my life, from nursing my mother, and simultaneously producing, choreographing, & performing in a show to teaching my classes and performing the last official gigs with She'enedra...there I said it the last official gigs (no gasps please) it's not a big deal we are all just ready for new things we had an amazing 5 year run or was it 6? Then there were my lovely guests from Scotland, the May Day party, Tribal Fest at which we danced the preparty, the festival & the Saturday night afterparty.

It's time to breathe! Last Sunday I sat at my spinning wheel for hours and finished off some lovely yarns and started new ones! I've dyed more wool and am going to ply it with this bobbin you see here...


I've had some time to cry and be alone, heard doors shut quietly in my house when I was alone and smelled my mother's perfume. Is she here? I think sometimes....I'm mourning and rejoicing in life at the same time. It's all ok. I've worked in my garden a lot too and am announcing show and tell!

pictures from Mythical creatures show that I like!

I have just been revisiting some of the pictures from the Mythical creatures show that we put on in March and there are soooo many great pictures all over the place! These ones were all taken by my friend Richard Lowe, you can see more on his website www.renaissancefaire.net
Anyway, I just wanted to post some of these because I enjoy looking at them... it's very narcissistic because they almost all have me in them : )

Brownies for your soul

ok maybe just for your mouth!

But these are the BEST ever

preheat oven to 350*

1/2 cup melted butter (I use Plugra)
1 cup sugar (I use that organic sugar from Trader Joe's)
mix together
and add
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
and mix a bit more

in a measuring cup put:
1/2 cup unbleached white flour : )
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I use Droste! it's Dutch and in my opinion the best)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
and mix that then dump it into the wet stuff and mix it all together lightly.

you can add 1/2 cup nuts unless you have people like Jasmin & Riley who are anti nuts!
put the mix into an 8x8 pan

bake for 20-25 minutes (less is more here)