Good day sunshine

Being woken up by a garbage truck is not fun. better than sirens.  its overcast out however lots to do before candlelighting, going to start the day!  Inspired to cook in the kitchen-I have dinosaur kale and cauliflower to cook-the finished product
a bowl of buckwheat with kale and steamed cauliflower that I pureed. the head of cauliflower from the market got roasted with curry powder.

Serving others Serves Me

YESSSS...If I am not for MySelf, for Whom
My acts of Service today included visiting the assisted Living I used to work at. Good to connect with Linda, the exuberant, expressive activities director who is a real Jewish Mama. She REALLY wants her divorced son to reamarry. Everything in the right time. Saw Margaret who is in her 90's and her son Marshall. They care about me a lot.
This afternoon I decluttered a room that is being used as an office. The woman's husband is a natropath,  a bit of a absentminded scientist. Someone who has a method to his madness in all of the clutter. I was able to clear out boxes, paper and return it to a state of somewhat chaos.
Rebbetzin Geltwoman needs to come to the rescue with her situation.

Gratitude is My Prayer

That is the message for today in the 21 day meditation challenge I am doing
I meant to be asleep already-I stayed up too late last night posting videos
Today was a day where Heaven is truly here on Earth -HOME . I went to a yoga class on the beach. When I arrived, people were doing downward dog at the waters edge.  I like :).  Lying in Shavasana on the sand beats a wooden floor. I think I almost fell asleep for a moment.
I connected with someone in the class who does acupressure and we did a trade. Good to have the blood flowing in my spine.  
I visited Estelle at Ocean House in assisted living.
I walked along the boardwalk headed towards the pier and found bodies balancing on feet on the grass. Wow! Acro Yoga. I got to do bird-balancing on the feet with my legs extended and chest out, smiling out at the ocean.

I didn't have much of a lunch and got to Whole Foods at sunset. Nourishment-peanut butter, cheddar flavored rice and nut crackers, and a banana. Grateful to make broth with celery and bok choi and add quinoa and tumeric. That is nourishment. Heading off to the world of dreams.

Ari Lesser - Give Thanks - Hanukkah - Thanksgiving

Womens Warmth

I just returned from a farbrengen at Esther Ginsburg's house. A farbrengen is a gathering of
people sharing stories, singing, drinking and eating. The drinking helps facilitate closeness between one another, so we make a L'chaim to bless one another.
This evening was one of sharing stories, song, eating, and laughter.
Yehudit runs the organization Bais Chana of California and organized the evening. Her lovely daughter in law, Avigail was one of the honored speakers.  She is newly married, speaks with a South African accent, and was raised in Israel. She is lovely and radiates her inner grace and beauty. I was curious to know her maiden name. Turns out I know her mom and met Avigail as well in Jerusalem. Her mother, Shoshana plays the harp. She is an elegant, graceful woman I always admired and wanted to emulate.
Avigail spoke about Emunah; faith and how we can have that connection. The story that will stay with me is her feeling down about herself and going to the Grove. She went to the Apple store. She saw a man working there running from one side of the store to the other. He had blonde hair and tatoos on his arm. One tatoo caught her eye, it was a phrase in hebrew from Teaching of the Fathers-Pirkei Avot:

If I am not for mySelf, Who is for Me?
And if  I am only for mySelf What am I?
And if not now, when? 

We are here not only for ourself, also to serve
if it is only for our Ego, to serve ourselves, what are we?
and the time is now, what are we waiting for? The world was created for us
to share our unique gift and talents.

She said that seeing that was able to shift her out of her own 'ego trip' and see more clearly.
We are always receiving messages.

I'm feeling clearer on what my message is. Chanukah is a holiday for women, the heroine of the story is Yehudit, who killed one of the Greek army generals.  When we light the menorah we are not supposed to do any work, and if we gaze and meditate on the candles, we can receive the light of the holiday. Our body is our home, and its an opportunity to bring more light into our bodies. bodies of light. radiating, shining pure light. Receiving bodywork is a great way to make space for the light to shine.  does this flow? I'm writing past my bedtime.
Yehudit shared her story how she got into Chabad. She was raised by parents who became Torah  observant as adults. I would say 'hippie 'seekers who became observant. Her father connected to Chassidic Rebbes, and was connected to the Amshinover Rebbe. The Amshinover Rebbe is known for being on a different plane when in comes to time. Supposedly he keeps Shabbat until Tuesday,a nd I heard that he lights the Chanukah menorah late at night/close to dawn.
She got exposed to a lot of different Chassidic Rebbes. She attended Bais Yaakov school until 8th grade when her family moved to LA. She attended Bais Yaakov in Denver for 2 years, and then convinced her parents to go to Israel for her last year of high school and attend Bais Chana, a Chabad school in Jerusalem. She got married in Israel and lived there for a few years.

A woman named Roz had us all laughing sharing her stories that she teaches traffic school. She is 75. She told a story about connecting to Gd through stealing halva candy that she HAD to have when she would go to the store for her family. She would put a piece of halva on her family's tab at the store each time when went shopping.

Blow the Roof off our Heart

wanted to share this article my friend Evan wrote

shambhalatimes.org/2013/11/22/blow-the-roof-off-your-heart/

Shopping and Socializing

What women do!
 I walk distances to get places.
I reconnected with my friend Chana today, and we sat at her table as I munched on her homemade granola and drank ginger tea.  We went for a short walk. Then I walked over to Fairfax to go to the 99 cent store.

Today I decided that a manicure was in order. I care about cleaning up my raggedy cuticles and filing my nails. I don't want polish. I'm always wary about the lotion they massage my hands with at a lot of salons.  I went to Marinello School of Beauty on Fairfax and Wilshire.   A young woman named Olivia gave me a manicure.  She has a bright spirit. 

She used OPI products. I looked at the ingredients in the hand lotion, and although I could read some ingredients, I wouldn't want all of them in my skin.  I am happy to have hands that look more presentable. 

I don't shop at the 99 cent store very often. On my list-baking soda, gloves for dishwashing, and q tips. I walked out with many more items, deciding that I'm in a baking mood. So much for carrying light items back. 

 On my way back I stoppped to visit my friend Ilanit.  Her daughter attends a homeschool, and today she was home. Ilanit and I sat at the table and we shared inspiring stories. She served me sushi rice with cucumber and avocado.

One of my highlights of my week is shopping at the La Cienega farmers market. It seems like I always  want to buy more than I have money-I wanted to buy flowers. I feel wealthy from my purchases.  Now to prepare food for Shabbos!

Home Cooking

It feels good to cook a nourishing meal. I get by with a LOT of grazing, eating at friend's, and fortunate to go out to eat. There's something nurturing about eating food prepared with my energy.  I just made a bomb dish-a great substitute for stuffing. I've adapted it from Body Ecology-an anti candida diet.  Baked buckwheat, kale, red pepper and celery, with rosemary and olive oil. YUMMMMM!!!

Soak the buckwheat and rinse. I like to soak for 12 hours. Less is ok. The soaking takes out the phytic acid.
Cook the buckwheat with about a cup of water.
Put in oiled baking dish and add chopped kale ,red pepper, celery, rosemary and sea salt.
bake at 350 for at least half an hour for desired crunchiness, bake longer.


Its important for me to be connected to the source of my sustenance, and choose my produce with care. I shop at local farmers markets as much as possible. I came home with cabbage, mung bean sprouts grapes, celery, bok choi, parsley,red pepper, cauliflower, and dinosaur kale-bought at 3 markets this week, since I'm a junkie!!!

Extra doses of Laughter!

Its an overcast afternoon /evening at the La Cienga Farmers Market

We need some laughter to add to the vitality of fragrant fruits, leafy greens, and roots. Great to bring smiles to the vendors and shoppers.  

Parrots on Palm

I've been taking walks around the neighborhood with my favorite 3 year old, Chanan Velvel. His younger brother is acting kvetchy, so I'm sure he appreciates getting out of the apartment. He is into trucks and bulldozers. On our walk on Monday,  I told him that there are parrots that live on Palm Dr. I asked a man on the sidewalk if he has seen parrots on his street. He said no, however there are wild parrots that fly around. Hopefully we will find one. If not, it makes a good title for a book, Parrots on Palm
Chanan and I took several laps around the block on a Friday night over a month ago. I pointed out the crickets making noise.  He knows when we walk during the day the crickets are sleeping


Despite the leaf blowers and traffic going by, I attune my ears to sounds of nature.