About Me

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Springdale, Arkansas, United States
Yoga and reading are my passions - followed closely by jewelry-making and cooking plant-based meals. My husband is my guinea pig for my recipes and thankfully he's a willing subject! Be sure to visit my Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBookishYogini?ref=search_shop_redirect

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Memories on Mother's Day

Mother's Day can be sad for those of us who have lost our Mothers.   This summer will be six years since my Mom lost her long battle against breast cancer.  There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about her in some way and feel her prescence.  So many little things.  Sometimes all I have to do is look in the mirror to think of Mom, because I favor her so much.  Other times, I will say something and think, "Oh, my, that is exactly like something Mom would say".  Sometimes I feel her spirit soaring on the whispering winds in the trees.  I miss her.

My mother was an amazing woman.

She loved her family more than anything else.  Mom and Dad always worked together throughout their entire marriage.  First in the Pharmacy, then in the Real Estate office.  It takes a special couple to be able to work together, all day, day after day successfully.  They did it well.  She loved being able to take care of my nephews when they were small.  She loved reunions and digging into genealogy.  She loved the community of friends that she and Dad found in the pow-wows that they attended.

She loved reading.  One time, Mom and Dad and I read the same book by Stephen King, "Dream Catcher".  Now - this is a strange story with some even stranger characters and events in it.  Afterwards, we would burst out laughing when one of us would mention a particularly weird and gross thing from that book.  (You'd just have to read it!)

She loved flowers and plants.  Many of the plants in her yard were transplants from other locations.   There was a lovely little vine that she got a start of from a rock wall in Eureka Springs, plants from her Dad's yard, and so many more.   I remember vividly one occasion when, even though she was not feeling that great, she insisted on digging up a rose bush at one of their rent houses to transplant to her yard.  Digging in the dirt refreshed her spirit.

She had a Zen/yoga-like philosophy.  When any of us were suffering through a difficult time, her response was to remember that "this too shall pass".   One time my husband and I were meeting Mom and Dad for dinner at a restaurant near their farm.  First, you must know that my husband is very time conscious, and is ALWAYS on time or early for appointments.  Well, the designated meeting time for dinner came and passed, and my husband was getting antsy.  Mom and Dad finally arrived, and when we commented that we wondered if they'd gotten lost, she said, "Oh well, time is of no importance".  Mom was a peace-maker, she was always the defuser in tense situations.  She would often tell an upset family member, "Now, just calm down".  She didn't like conflict any more than I do.

She loved music of ALL kinds.  If you looked through her CD's, you would find:  Rock, Pop, Jazz, Country, Bluegrass, Classical and Jazz.  One of her favorite songs was, "All the Gold in California" by Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers.  When the line:  "All the gold in California is in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills, in somebody else's name," would come up, we would all sing it together at the top of our lungs.  It was hilarious!  We all went to Branson twice to see Andy Williams, and once got to see Glen Campbell.  A month before she passed away, I took her to see "Cats" for the second time, at the Walton Arts Center.  She loved that musical, and named one of her cats "Macavity", after the mystery cat from that show.

In her last year, one of her favorite songs was "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe.  To this day, I can't listen to this song without crying, because I love and miss Mom so much.  I can only imagine what it will be like to see Mom and Jesus in Heaven.




Mom
 

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Back in the Swing of Things

Whew!  This week has been a blur since we returned home from Long Island.  We got back Tuesday evening and I went back to work at the Library the very next day.  I was ready to get back to a routine.  I LOVE working at Bentonville Public Library!  If you live in Benton County, Arkansas, get a library card if you don't already have one!!  Go to this website:  Bentonville Library and find out exactly what to bring with you to get your FREE card, and check out all the very cool FREE things BPL has to offer, i.e, downloadable ebooks and audiobooks, free music downloads, free magazine downloads, and tons of other resources.

Wednesday afternoon I taught my first class at the NWACC Bella Vista Center.  Yippee!  I had five students sign up, so the class was to be held!  Most of my students are new to Yoga, so I offer lots of options for poses that may be more challenging here at the beginning.

I returned to my volunteer chair yoga class at Concordia Retirement Center on Friday morning.  It was so good to see these folks again!  This week we had a smaller than normal class though, probably because IT SNOWED in Northwest Arkansas - the first recorded May snow in history!  Yikes!!

Friday evening was spent visiting with my Navy nephew, Wesley.  We are all so proud of him and his brothers for the accomplishments that each have achieved.



On weekends, I like to cook up several dishes that we can eat now and freeze the extra for later.  This weekend I made a new recipe called Spicy Chickpea Salad.  It is VERY spicy (might have used the whole jalapeno instead of half - oops!)  This will be a very handy summer recipe. I adapted it from this recipe:  Spicy Chickpea Salad.

Spicy Chickpea Salad

I also prepared my Spinach Chickpea Burgers.  They remind me of Salmon Patties that I used to make in my pre-vegetarian days.  My husband likes to take these Chickpea Burgers with him on busy teaching days as a quick meal-on-the-go.  He likes them cold or hot!  They are good with some mustard spread on top also.

Spinach Chickpea Burgers

The last new recipe I tried today was adapted from this recipe:  Asian Roasted Broccoli with Cashews.   Delicious!  The garlic caramelized, the cashews were divine, and the broccoli was tender yet crunchy.  Definitely a repeat.

Asian Roasted Broccoli with Cashews

Well, it's time to prepare for tomorrow's SilverSneakers YogaStretch Class, so must go.

Happy cooking!
Carrie