“Old English Eōstre continues into modern English as Easter and derives from Proto-Germanic *austrōn, itself a descendant of the Proto-Indo-European root *aus-, meaning ‘to shine’ (modern English east also derives from this root).[3] Writing in the 8th century, the Anglo-Saxon monk Bede describes Ēostre as the name of an Old English goddess and behind the … Continue reading
Wondering Why We Left
About six months ago, after about a full year of a very deep dive into my family’s genealogy…tracing many of my maternal lines back to America’s early colonies…I began to ponder on why these people left. Why did so many British, Scottish, and Irish peasants leave their homeland…risk their lives…to arrive in an unknown and … Continue reading
Resilience: an exploration of quilting craft
Some of you may have read about my first exploration with quilting here. I created a small quilt for my five year old daughter. I hand-stitched all the squares but decided to hand-knot the quilt instead of quilt stitch…as it would have taken me forever and the quilt had already consumed a year of working … Continue reading
Southern New Years Tradition: Hoppin’ John, Greens & Cornbread
I appreciate how my mother gently reminds me each year of our family’s (well, and many, many other Southern folk’s) tradition of eating black eyed peas, cornbread, and boiled greens on new year’s day. This meal is eaten to bring luck, prosperity, and health! Pork is used in the black eyed peas/hoppin’ john dish and … Continue reading
Exploring Acorns, Starch Noodles
Some of you may remember my post on making pinole energy cakes with acorn flour. This fall, with the arrival of acorn harvesting season, I decided to finally try making the acorn starch noodles I had learned about in a foraging group on Facebook. Pictured above is the outcome of my SECOND attempt at making … Continue reading
Foundations of Herbalism, 5 Month Series
The soul and structure of this program has been grafted from a series that I taught in Mississippi years ago which was informed by various workshops I had taught for seven years prior to that. Now that my daughter is 5 years old, I have the space and capacity to create and guide this series … Continue reading
School Hauntings & The Dreamtime
10 years ago I started having anxiety dreams. They would happen just once or twice a year, but they were always the same kind of dream. And, the residue from the dream would stay with me for days. I’m in a class, high school or college. I didn’t realize there was a pop quiz. Or, … Continue reading
Lichen Dying: You Will Lichen It
You are welcome for the cheesy, dad joke title of my blog. I am well known in my household for puns and play-on-words like this one. My husband sighs and looks away into the distance. My daughter laughs at me hysterically. It all evens out in the wash (smile). So, most of you know that … Continue reading
Stitching Together Memories
My great grandma Ora (born in the year 1900), of the red clay hills in Mississippi, was an impeccable seamstress and skilled in hand-sewing quilts. As far as I know, she never used a sewing machine or, at least, she never did on her quilts. With her legacy of quilt making in my family’s past, … Continue reading
Milk Thistle, Dreamtime, and the Liver
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) (introduced by Europeans to the US) *** Milk thistle has been a part of my life and practice for about 15 years, now. However, I’ve been getting to know this herbal ally more and more lately as she grows so heartily out here in Coastal CA. In the past, I hadn’t … Continue reading
Lindsay Kolasa 