Wise Women's Ways

1 It's wine making time again!  Every year I try to make at least one batch from the fruit we have growing around our home.  Last year was chokecherry, and this year it is plum.   We had tons of plums this year, so we picked them a little early and brought them inside to ripen to keep some of the more opportunistic critters from getting to them.  I boiled them with a bit of water and a teaspoon of lemon juice for about 15 minutes to create the juice.  I squeezed the rest out using cheesecloth and set it up in my gallon jug.  Add yeast and put the airlock on -- you can see the yeast in action in this photo.  Once the bubbles die down I will decant into bottles and seal it up until next spring.  Cheers! -- Francine

At Wednesday night Meditation Group, this phrase in the 15 minute guided meditation, was used a few times. I have to admit, that the first time it was used I sort of disregarded it...but then after the second and third time it was said I became confused and perplexed on it's meaning...."Choiceless Awareness". The guide was talking about letting those random thoughts come in and instead of being aware and then move on and past them the guide suggested...well, to actually follow the thought and acknowledge it and ponder.  Ok, the word "choiceless"is one I have never used and the meaning;  power   of   choosing  between   things.   Choice   implies   the   opportunity   to   choose. So choiceless is...to not have the power to choose. Awareness:  the   state   or   condition   of   being   aware ;  having   knowledge; consciousness. I have thought about these two words used together all week. I get it now. Those random thoughts that pop into your head while m

Snow Blurred the boundaries Along the moon path. Winter birds were hushed And the blue radiance Became a chapel for creatures of the night. Ghostly birches stood bare - The ground littered With white bones of their branches. Stars semaphored to me And I was drawn to the calm... Where only the shadows moved. Maude G. Booth

National Cabbage Day was February 17th and is the vegetable of the month.  I celebrated with my two cooking classes on Valentines Day the 14th and just tonight (28th).  I shared some interesting facts and a yummy recipe with my classes. I would like to share here as well. From the French Caboche, meaning "head", cabbage comes in a variety of forms. The cabbage family is varied and includes Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Bok Choy, Kohlrabi and Kale.  Cabbage is an ancient food with origins in Asia Minor (Turkey today) and eastern Mediterranean. There are over four hundred varieties of cabbage; from round to conical in shape, with flat or curly, tight or loose leaves in green, white, red and purple colors . An interesting fact, Chinese cabbage (Pak Choi or Box Choy) is not a true cabbage but actually Chinese Chard.  French explorer Jacques Cartier was the first to bring cabbage to America.  Cabbage is versatile and can be eaten raw, steamed or saute'd

Hello lovely readers!  As you can see from the posts below, Terri is the writer here. However, I wanted to post something at the launch of our new endeavor.  I was thinking about winter, and how symbolic it has been for mine and Terri's lives for the last few years.  Changes with life circumstances, with jobs, with our friendship itself froze us in place for a while.     For me, winter is the season of the Crone, who rules over the sleeping earth, the goddess of the crossroads, of the hibernating potential,  the one who invites us to follow her underground for a time to rest.  I looked at my biography that I wrote for this blog several years (!!!) ago now and wondered, how much of it is still true?  I see that I have been sleeping.  I garden only enough to have a few fresh veggies,  haven't canned in a couple of years, knitting is sporadic, not really doing holistic therapy anymore.   I have been underground with the Crone.    So what is spurring the change now?  I feel like

Wise Women's Journey will have a sister site "Gaia's Wheel" where we will come together and celebrate the Wheel of the Year. Within the next month we will start reaching out, and setting up a calendar of events to celebrate together. Francine and myself are in the planning stages...keep in touch and like-wise we will be doing the same with updates and ideas. Our email is: gaiaswheel@gmail.com FYI...Gaia's Wheel was a networking group that Francine and myself hosted in the Brainerd Lakes Area quite a few years ago during the 2000's. We ran pretty strong for about 5-6 years and held group potlucks to celebrate the Wheel of the Year, study groups, published a monthly newsletter and were a support for those who enjoyed sharing and learning in eclectic alternative philosphies. We'll be chatting with you soon! Blessings, Terri

Yesterday began our reprieve from bitter cold and it was gorgeous out! I believe it reached the low 40's. To celebrate a gorgeous weekend, I'd like to share one of my grandmother's poems. She was a published poet and as you will see, very talented. Remembering Maude G. Booth The Last Snowflake I was the last snowflake to leave; I pondered reasons for reprieve. I spoke with sunbeams in command, Who said they really had it planned. They taught me how the flowers grow And showed me where the rivers flow. I saw the birds come flying in With songs above the bullfrogs din. The sunbeams told how leaves unfurl And how soft breezes made them twirl. The blue of sky turned bluer still, With anxious rain clouds primed for drill. Now April challenged my delay; Regretfully, I slipped away. Maude G. Booth

This might seem like a daunting question, but it is really very easy to answer! The answer is YES! Welcome to a Wise Women's Journey! Sometimes the road you are following seems strange, unknown, and you are questioning whether it is the right one. But believe me when I say that it does lead you to where you need to be. It may be winding, twisting, scary, doubling back, and seemingly going in a circle but it leads you to those experiences in life that become clear many miles down the road. I like this metaphor for life...a journey, on a road or a path of sorts or sometimes even an unmarked trail. Do you sometimes feel like your life is meandering, with side excursions into a deep dark forest? Oh another fun metaphor! life is like that, isn't it?  Through all the choices or roads we choose, or not conscience choices because of what seems like unseen forces of fate...it brings us all to a question asked how many times in each of our lives, "what in the world has this be