The Ties That Bind Us, Can Also Free Us

For many years, I have been working on ancestral and lineage-based knots or wounds in my family line — opening up the channels of my ancestral energy to flow more freely. What I have noticed this past year is a heightened awareness of the importance of this in our personal lives and family constellations we … Continue reading →

Christmas, 1984 (a poem)

Christmas, 1984 It was the most memorable Christmas,Albeit strange and slightly disturbing. In all honesty,We had taken the orphan, baby alligator skeletonFrom the marshlandBleached bone white by the sun,And brought it home. I wanted to keep it.It’s long, pointed snout Intrigued me. And, at that time, I didn’t know its true fate. She later tied … Continue reading →

Wheel of Life 2022

“If I was to sum up one core lesson I shall carry with me after my year with the Wheel of Life Program it would be the power of “enough.” So to anyone seeking wholeness, the blessing of enough — being, having, feeling, sharing, understanding enough — I would say to them: welcome home. The … Continue reading →

Tug on This Thread (a poem)

Tug on This Thread The love you didn’t give me……you were never given…The strength you never showed me……you were never shown… The tears you did not wipeas they rolled down my face……just reminded you ofhow you suffered, alone……and that, so should I… The nourishing foodsseemed like a hassle.The songs……you didn’t remember the words… The dreams,you … Continue reading →

Wonder Woman Remembers Grandma (a poem)

My Mississippi grandma and her friendshad superpowers.Not the comic strip kind,but the surreal, Southern, storied kind. What made them fantasticalwas how they stood outagainst the sobering backdropof modernity. My grandma taught herself to play the pianoand could play and sing dozens of hymnals by memoryas if the gospel was flowing right through her.Her hands had … Continue reading →

Mallow Mallow and more Mallow Soup

Really, though. What has taken me so long to learn about molokhia (mulukhiyyeh) soup (Egypt, Lebanon, etc)??? A recent post in a foraging group led me on an adventure with our local, invasive cheesewheel mallow plant (Malva parviflora or Malva neglecta). Although the mallow used in molokhia soup is a different species (jute mallow or … Continue reading →

Creativity and the Handmade Life

“…”I love my creative life more than I love cooperating with my own oppression.” If we were to abuse our children, Social Services would show up at our doors. If we were to abuse our pets, the Humane Society would come to take us away. But there is no Creativity Patrol or Soul Police if … Continue reading →

Pumpkin Spice Marrow Custard

It is that time of year. Imbolc. The mid-point between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox of the Old Celtic Wheel of the Year. It’s at this time that eggs are starting to be laid. Eggs of all kinds. Wombs are full. Nature is preparing for birth. Years ago, in Mississippi, I cooked and prepared … Continue reading →