Time for thank you: Mahalo kakou

Many earth people, and traditions which value the connection of humans to all that is recognize the power of  prayer.  Beautifully crafted, embellished and enriched with song, drumming, dance or simply stated aloud or silently there is power in the word.  One of the most powerful prayers is simply "Thank you." All around us we see the evidence of structures being restructured/disassembled both on the collective and large-scale as well as on the personal and intimate levels.  The cosmic reordering can be explained (if that is a fit word) by seeing how the planets (Pluto and Saturn in particular, though other personal planets will play a role as well.  In our world, Pete and I are being reassembled at very basic levels.  I received my first Social Security Check today:  good news!  The check however, is made out to someone I 'once was' (a former married name); and though I worked on getting this change made to the federal government system my efforts and the 'system' still need to connect at the right place.  Short story:  I will need to keep working at it.  This process of being 'reassembled' is the theme of my fairy tale WOOD CRAFTING.  The characters and the setting are a blend of other-worldliness and our world.  In our real world though, the only way to be reassembled is to be DIS-assembled first.  That means, you gotta forget a lot of what you thought/did/believed before the new can be rebuilt.  I heard something on the radio yesterday while driving south from a special day in Skagit County.  In gently supportive context one woman said to the other, "Things are hard in the beginning."  It clicked a switch inside me and I felt the message at a deeply relevant place.  Things are hard in the beginning of most things whether it's learning to tie your first shoes or learning to live without gasoline or money to pay a mortgage.  It helps me to remember to take time to pray, and today it helps for me to say "Thank you."  It's a habit I have let slide, so today I pick it up again.

I'm closing in on my physical limit at the computer and the temptation to keeping spilling onto the page is a strong urge.  Still, I know it's better that I stop soon.  This is a post of thanks, mahalo kakou (a collective thank you) before the 'Ole Cycles (a time of no new posts for one thing) begin tomorrow.  Wonderful people and situations do surround me and my heart is filled with gratitude.  Here are my thank yous.

1.  Thank you to all the Followers and readers (newly come, and long-time readers) who stop to read our blog.
2.  Thank you JT and Lana for the beautiful prints created by Rima Staines.  They are off-gassing nicely here in the basement and we get to see them every day.
3.  Thank you D and L for the friendship and space here in Everett.
4.  Thank you 'B' for letting us camp on the strip of lawn between the two settled houses.
5.  Thank you folks from Transitional Everett for welcoming us into your circle; especially Hal for playing his harmonica in our basement what a treat!
6.  Thank you K for your support through the uncertainty of life with MCS.
7.  Thank you Christopher for the Wonder Wash.  It's making a difference in my clothes washing routines.
8.  Thank you to the folks at our Sno-Isle Cooperative for being there and being friendly and relatively 'stink-free.'
9.  Thank you JOTS for the furry feline love you share simply being a kitty.
10.  Thank you Pete for being part of my journey.

Another DREAM COMING TRUE Post

Even though we cannot see clearly how it's going to turn out, we are still called to let the future into our imagination.
-Joanna Macy

We're big on dreams. Pete and I look at each other a lot, and say stuff like, "Who woulda dreamed?" Well, the truth is we have dreamed this life up and the price we pay for being on the cutting edge or living life on the ledge is we must as Joanna Macy said, 'let the future into our imagination.'

It's a new MONday, a new week begins and a simple practice continues with gratitude and appreciation to open up the future yet to be. Here are 10 things in my life for which I give thanks:

1. Thanks for the possibilities of collaboration in Oregon.

2. Thanks for the internet that allows me access to a virtual and possible in-the-flesh community.

3. Thanks for misunderstandings that clear up.

4. Thanks for slow yet real reconnections.

5. Thanks for avocado and tomato sandwiches (ymmmmmy!)

6. Thanks for kitty kisses.

7. Thanks for volunteer potato plants in bloom in the compost. (lucky food)

8. Thanks for the oodles of frogs that come to be with us on the sink, in the garden on the table.

9. Thanks for late bloomers.

10. Thanks for Pete.

What are the things and who are the people on your thank you list?

Fish and Poi Thanksgiving

We shopped for our Thanksgiving feast yesterday. Uwajimaya is our favorite place to get a hit of shopping that’s almost like being back home. This landmark store is part of the wonderful neighborhood that is China Town and the International District of downtown Seattle. Food – fresh, packaged, cooked/fried/roasted/baked/broiled is on offer in this warehouse size establishment. The sounds, voices and faces make this shopping fun. I always travel with my mask when I shop never knowing what smells might trigger a sensitivity. Some stores are just a ‘no-go’ fortunately Uwajimaya is not one of them. It’s not far from the Kitchenette, and just enough of a jaunt to get us out of house. At least once a month we break the routine of Co-op shopping and find the foods that warm the soul: long rice, Chinese long beans, fresh mochi with black beans, kabocha tempura and of course, poi.

We went looking for kalo, taro root. The big root vegetable is the original Hawaiian soul food, the embodiment of ancestral beginnings and the food from which comes pa`i `ai … poi. Pete loves to steam chunks of peeled kalo like potatoes and would eat it at least once a week if not more. When we got there the kalo was LARGE but already starting to mold not a good way for the precious root to be eaten. Around the corner bags of TARO BRAND Poi filled the shelves. I shouted, “There’s poi!” “That would be fun.” Pete was glad to here it. If the poi is fresh, I simply open the plastic bag, pour a scant maybe quarter cup of filtered water to the poi, squeeze the poi a little and turn the mixture inside out into a waiting bowl. We eat the poi thick rather than runny. Freshly cleaned, bright rock fish caught my eye. I chose two fillets. Cut into thick chunks, steamed with chopped Chinese parsley, sliced white onions and a sprinkle of wakame (dried sea weed) and grated ginger, and the simple and delicious dish is ready. Organic broccoli, carrots and cauliflower also steamed and our feast is complete. I did buy a can of organic pumpkin pie filling from the Co-op thinking I might experiment with something that could bake in our toaster oven … the concoction hasn’t come to me yet. So, we’ll see.

We send you a hearty blessing and give thanks to you, our visitors who may be celebrating a Thanksgiving meal today, or celebrating simply because it’s another day to give thanks.

Mokihana and Pete

Welcome and thanks for visiting

(Aloha Living Bento ... plate lunch special & a feast of thanks for you!)

The new MAP LOCATOR on our blogs tells us you are visiting from places as close to us as Bellevue, Wa. and as far away as places like Lima, Peru and The Netherlands. It makes my heart happy to see the purple heart out there on the Islands, knowing eh...Hawaii is in the house. Yipppee. We are SO EXCITED to know you're finding VARDOFORTWO and twin blog SAMANDSALLY.

Thank you all very much. We hope something we're doing here adds to your journey, and look forward to any and all comments you have as we continue to build the vardo. Hope grows with attention and appreciation. We appreciate all of you.

Mahalo nui loa kakou, Mokihana and Pete