I got an added bonus from my wonderful Hair Goddess because I mentioned that I am a swimmer and headed for Maui in a few days.
Here’s how to pamper and protect your hair before diving into the pool or ocean for a swim or body surfing:
Always wet your hair before going swimming in chlorinated or ocean water. Because hair is such a sponge, it will soak up the first water it comes into contact with. By wetting it first with bottled water (like when you’re on the beach) or from tap water (preferably filtered so any chlorine or chloramine is reduced), it won’t soak up as much of the pool or ocean water, both of which are very drying and damaging to hair.
Be a kind & loving friend to your hair: become a wethead before you get drenched by your swim in ocean or pool!
I don’t like Halloween. Its commercialism, scary monsters, and mega sugar all misinterpret and misrepresent what this season is about.
I love Dia de los Muertos and the Celtic Samhain, however!! Both of these ancient traditions are about connecting with and honoring our ancestors and beloveds who have died. They are rich with ceremony and rituals that bring meaning and significance to this season of All Souls.
If celebrating this time with meaning and heartfelt connection speaks to you, here’s an inside look at some of the steps I take to participate in Dia de los Muertos:
* Write the names of the departed who you wish to honor. Definitely include non-humans in this, eg. dogs, cats, horses and others
* Gather photos, mementos, jewelry, clothing, letters & cards, etc. that bring back good memories of these dear ones
* Create an altar area upon which you place these items. It can be a table, shelf, the hearth – whatever area is big enough to hold the items plus a few others. (Be sure to set up the altar space out of reach of small children and pets.)
* Place a colorful cloth on the altar surface and arrange the mementos upon it. Add fresh flowers, candles, dark chocolate and a small glass of spirits (wine, liqueur, champagne…), all of which delight the spirits of the dead.
* Schedule dedicated and uninterrupted time each day over the next couple of days, including October 31st, to sit and be with these beloveds. Play some of their favorite music if this will help bring them to mind. Thank them for their lives and for what they gave you. At the close of each of these times with them, ask if there is anything they would like you to know.
After these days of remembrance, know that your dear ones are always with you and around you. All they want is for us to know 2 things: They love us and they are here to support and assist us. We simply need to ask them for their help.
What do you do to celebrate and remember your ancestors at this time? Please share in the Comments.
A rosebud unfolds like a new day. Photo by Heather Michet
Each morning we awake to a new day, full of possibility and mystery. We don’t know how it will unfold or end or where our grief may take us after a loss. This can give us feelings of powerlessness and lack of control, yielding a sense of fear at what unexpected emotions and experiences might appear.
What we do have a say in is how we begin each day and what we choose to bring into our minds, bodies and environments.
I love setting the tone of my day by reading this beautiful poem by John O’Donohue aloud each morning. It speaks of the richness, wonder, beauty and opportunity we all have as the sun rises.
Read it and feel how it resonates for you and your soul.
A Morning Offering by John O’Donohue
I bless the night that nourished my heart To set the ghosts of longing free Into the flow and figure of dream That went to harvest from the dark Bread for the hunger no one sees.
All that is eternal in me Welcome the wonder of this day, The field of brightness it creates Offering time for each thing To arise and illuminate.
I place on the altar of dawn: The quiet loyalty of breath, The tent of thought where I shelter, Wave of desire I am shore to And all beauty drawn to the eye.
May my mind come alive today To the invisible geography That invites me to new frontiers, To break the dead shell of yesterdays, To risk being disturbed and changed.
May I have the courage today To live the life that I would love, To postpone my dream no longer But do at last what I came here for And waste my heart on fear no more.
Try reading this each morning of the coming week. Notice any shifts in your thinking and emotions as you read it and throughout your days.
Tell me in an email what you notice as you practice this. (Send to Connect@PurpleCrowSings.com) I would love to hear how reading these beautiful words feeds your soul or changes some of your perceptions.
I recently had the honor of being interviewed by Elizabeth Fournier, author of The Green Burial Guidebook and owner of Cornerstone Funeral Services, on her new radio show “Until We Meet Again”.
It was a delight to speak about my 4 element healing work and how these natural solutions serve and support the bereaved.
Listen to the interview and find out what led me from a career in civil engineering to creating and singing in, unique memorial ceremonies.
Pour seeds into a medium size bowl. Cover with filtered water so that the water is 3 inches higher than the seeds. Cover. Let sit at room temperature for 12 hours.
Drain seeds. Combine seeds with all the remaining ingredients in blender and whiz it up until smooth.
Transfer to a glass jar with lid (I use repurposed ones from my pantry.) Refrigerate.
It’s ready to spread the next day on your favorite sandwich, wurst, or as an ingredient in salad dressing and a million other recipes.
Maybe you’ve had the joy and Ahhhh of gulping down a Lemoncocco while traveling in Italy. This non-alcoholic beverage does the trick in satisfying thirst, replenishing electrolytes and simply making you feel good in summer’s heat.
While visiting a dear friend on a sizzling day, she handed me a can of Lemoncocco and said: “You’ve got to try this!!! I’d order cases of it if it wasn’t so dang spendy, as in $3 per can.” Yikes.
After that endorsement, I not only tasted, but devoured an entire can in a couple of minutes flat. So damn good!
Being the good do-it-yourselfer that I am, I immediately looked at the list of ingredients to see what could be so special and proprietary that there had to be that huge pricetag.
Nothing out of the ordinary or any ingredients you couldn’t buy at the grocery store showed up on the label.
I suggested my pal just whip up her own version, but that was not met with jumping enthusiasm.
So I did and now you can too!
Here’s the recipe.
DIY LEMONCOCCO
1 can well-chilled lemon flavored sparkling water, unsweetened. I love LaCroix brand.
1/4 cup coconut milk, canned or refrigerated
6 drops liquid stevia
Juice of 1/2 lemon – no fake stuff!!!
Mix all together in a tall glass. Sit back in your favorite lounge chair on the deck, pretend you’re on the veranda in an Italian villa, and drink up. Don’t be surprised when you hear Italian children playing and someone approaching you with a beautiful antipasti platter.
Let me know how you like it in the Comments.
Ciao!
Lemons photo by Justin Schwartfigur on Unsplash ** Coconut photo by Tijana Drndarski on Unsplash
Simple is good. Homemade is better. Waste-free is supreme!
Now combine all three of those in one effective personal hygiene product and you’ve got a winner.
Enter DIY Toothpaste.
You’ve most likely got each of the ingredients and tools to whip this up in your kitchen. Lord knows you’ve got a small glass jar with a lid hanging out in your pantry.
So let’s get to it!
DIY TOOTHPASTE
3 Tbsp. organic coconut oil, at room temperature. Do NOT melt the oil.
1 Tbsp. baking soda
0.5 Tbsp. high quality sea salt or Pink Himalayan salt
12 drops Peppermint essential oil
Combine all ingredients in a small glass jar with tight fitting lid. Store at room temperature. To use, place approx. 1/8 teaspoon of paste on wet toothbrush, then brush.
Feel those teeth and gums sparkle and rejoice with clean, natural freshness. Feel even better knowing that you made it yourself and will not be adding any “lives on forever plastic” to the landfill once this batch is used up.
Your mouth and body thank you. Your Earth Mother salutes you with a deep bow of gratitude.
Those dark brown, spikey nubs in your spice drawer have many more uses than spiced cider or mulled wine. Containing strong anti-bacterial, antimicrobial and antiseptic properties, cloves can offer relief for toothaches, help boost your immune system and aid in digestion, to name just a few.
I use Clove Infusion to ease oral discomfort before and after dental work to promote a bacteria free environment in the mouth, warding off infection.
CLOVE INFUSION
Place 1 Tbsp. whole cloves into tea infuser, small tea pot or ceramic mug. Add boiling (filtered) water, cover and let steep for 12 minutes.
Let cool slightly before sipping: gently swish warm infusion throughout mouth, paying particular attention to the affected area so that the liquid coats it entirely from all angles. Swallowing liquid will give your digestion a boost too, so go for it!
Drink 1 cup of infusion 2-3 times per day or until pain and/or risk of infection have passed.
Clove Infusion is a super easy and economical go-to for pain relief in the mouth. Its infection-fighting properties rival any antibiotic.
It was a snowy Sunday morning – slow and peaceful.
Capt. Jack, No Sparrows and I are both stationed on the multi-use table in our home: he’s watching bird tv out the bay window and I’m happily planted with my calculator and two tax prep organizers, mine and dad’s. I am feeling great about getting all of the tax stuff to my CPA before February’s end!
As I cruise through my form’s queries, checking boxes and filling in figures, the next line is Date of Death.
Boom! My eyes erupt with tears. Once again, that sneaky bugger grief has surprised me with an unannounced heart ripping. Thank you very much.
Did I mention that I was working on my tax organizer, not dad’s? His organizer was next in the queue. The organizer for his last tax return, ever. Another part of his life was closing.
Grief is a Sneaker Wave
You never know when a grief sneaker wave will strike. Unlike the beachside rule to always face the ocean and never turn your back on it to avoid being pulled under, there is no version of this for grief.
Are we doomed, then, to always hold grief in the forefront of our awareness, keeping watch for its next surprise attack? To walk around warily, wondering when we’ll get caught in its clutches again? Is that the secret to keeping us from being broadsided and sucked under from out of the blue?
Can We Get Grief Attack Warnings?
I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s any preparation to avert one of grief’s heart ripping sneaker waves. And yet, what if seeing Date of Death on my form was grief’s warning of what I soon would feel? Maybe there was a wee bit of grace being offered in that moment after all.
My advice when you get rolled over by one of these waves? Just let it take hold of you. Cry the tears. Let go the scream. Write the blog. Breathe. Roll around in its wake.
I know there will be more sneaker waves as I swim in this ocean of grief, doing “lasts” and experiencing “firsts”: birthdays, holidays, vacations, dinners…all without him.
I also know that with each swim in grief, my inner grief pool is lightened just a little bit more.
Have you experienced grief sneaker waves? How did you navigate through them? I would love to hear about them.
It’s November and I am thankful for many many things, but especially fresh cranberries! I buy several bags of them to make into Fresh and Raw Cranberry Relish, chutney or jam, and to freeze so they can be enjoyed long after their fresh season has ended.
After whipping up 2017’s first batch of relish a few days ago, I had a flash inspiration for an appetizer that was a major hit in my kitchen, and with my new book group pals!
By popular request, here is the recipe for you all.
sturdy tortilla chips (I like the Late July Multigrain chips)
Place goat cheese log in the middle of serving platter. Arrange the relish along one side of log and chips along the other side. Side dress the platter with pickled jalapeno slices.
To devour, smear a bit of goat cheese onto a chip. Top with relish, followed by a jalapeno slice. Pop the whole thing into your mouth and crunch with delight. Repeat. And you’ll probably want to repeat again and again.
The contrasting yet complementary textures and flavors of this appetizer are very tasty…and addictive.
