April 2008 Archives

I had to say "Whaaaattttt?" when I saw the new Monopoly game.  The little girl is so excited about winning faster because she doesn't need money.  The game uses debit cards instead.  There we go!  Let's raise our grand kids to know nothing about money and only about sliding that little plastic card through the machine.  True, plastic does represent the energy of money, but it takes it out of context.  Just look at the bankruptcy courts today and see how that works!

Wheel and deal your way to a fortune even faster using <strong>debit cards instead of cash</strong>! All it takes is a card swipe for money to change hands. Now you can collect rent, buy properties and pay fines - with the touch of a button! It's a new way to play the family classic that's been brought up-to-date with modernized tokens (including a Segway personal transporter, an Altoids tin, space shuttle, flat-screen TV, baseball cap and a dog in handbag!), higher property values and locations based on your favorite landmarks!

Game board comes with title deed cards, chance and community chest cards, 6 debit cards, 2 dice, 6 tokens, 32 houses, 12 hotels and instructions. 2-6 Players

The danger is just as great for our children and grandchildren to get hooked on credit as it is getting diabetes from eating poorly.  Really, grandmothers unite!  Take your grandkids for walks in the woods.  Teach them the secrets of the forest!  Raise them in love and not debt.

Check out this site for a world-view:  <a href="http://www.debtweek.org">Debt Week.org</a>

How are you grandmothering your grandchildren?  Do you share time with them?  Do you take them on vacations?  Do you help them with their homework?  Are you a Grandfamily with your grandchildren living with you and <a href="http://www.uwex.edu/relationships/" target="_blank">you're their primary caregiver</a>?  Do you get to see your grandchildren?

There are as many grandmother stories about our relationship with our grandchildren as there are grandmothers.  That is what is wonderful about the diverse world we live in.  We can share these stories and that diversity!

When my grandson Caden was younger, I used to make up silly rhymes with him while I pushed him on the swing.  Even as he got older, he'd rope me into those rhymes and giggle when I'd say words that delighted him.  To hear his laugh, to see him smile and his eyes light up, it is heaven.  Even if we have little time with our little ones, the time is the gift.  Share yourself with your grandkids and you'll find yourself again.  Stories about your childhood, about your family, about how you see life are what will shape their view of the world and their view of you.

Making things together during a holiday is a wonderful way to share time together.  Make a home made card, or home made candy together and just chat about what's going on in their world.  You'll always be amazed at what they know and how their minds work.  Here's<a href="http://www.wisewomen.org/images/thanksgiving_tree.pdf" target="_blank"> instructions</a> and a <a href="http://www.wisewomen.org/images/pattern_tree.pdf" target="_blank"> pattern</a> for a Child's Thanksgiving Tree and a beautiful <a href="http://www.wisewomen.org/images/wreath.pdf" target="_blank"> Coffee Filter wreath</a>.  I found these at <a href="http://crafterscommunity.com" target="_blank">crafterscommunity.com</a> and there are tons of other resources online.

We're blessed to be Nannas.  Share that blessing in any way you can.  It doesn't cost anything and you could be giving them a place to hold on to when things get rough in the future.  I never knew my father's parents and I feel the loss still.  I only knew my mother's parents for a short time into adulthood when I became somewhat conscious.  They had gifts of stories on the farm, unique family rituals and things that were meaningful to share.

Taking your grandchildren to the library is an exciting adventure!  Story time for them, is joy time for us.  All those eyes in rapt attention to the story-teller.  It helps us focus on what's important in life.  Curiosity, laughter, fears and hopes come through stories.  Taking some books home and reading them with your grandchildren will give you a sense of centering, clarity and closeness.  As Martha says, "It's a good thing!"

If your grandchildren are far away, send them books for the holidays and "just because I love you!" days.  Read the book before you send it and then discuss it with them after they get a chance to read it.  If you are a tech-smart grandmother and live far away, get a camera for your computer and one for theirs and talk online with each other so you can "see" each other.  Make <a href="http://www.photoshow.com/maker" target="_blank">little movies </a>with pictures you've taken and poems you've written and share it with them.  Photoshow doesn't charge anything for this. You're giving them the gift of you, your creativity and the inspiration and support for their own creative urges.

View image:  Caden with Nana Carole Horsin' Around

If you are not able to see your grandchildren, give all that love, excitement, joy and wisdom to children in your community who long for a nana, just like you.  You may make a difference in someone's life that otherwise would have been alone.  Healing is what nanas do best!

How do you spend "time" with your grandchildren?  How do you share your lives?  Are they near or far?  Please share your stories with me.

As the song goes, "Turn around and you're one, turn around and you're four, turn around and you're a young man walking out of the door."  

Too soon they grow up and too soon time is past.  Sharing the "now" is what will last.

Blessings to Nanas and their grandchildren everywhere.

We've heard a lot about Oprah who had a very successful teleseminar with Eckhart Tolle, rather like a book club with 700,000 members!  What a wonderful world we live in.  I love this time, I love technology, I love Eckart Tolle's style of writing spiritual things for everyone to understand - who is in the place that wants to understand.  If you haven't read A New Earth - Awakening to Your Life's Purpose , I highly recommend it to every grandmother out there.  It is so time for our conscious awareness of our ego, of the God within, of being present in our bodies, in our relationships and in our families to come to the surface and br recognized joyfully!

Consciousness is cool!  :)  We grandmothers can bring this awareness to our children, to our mates, to our grandchildren and we can transform the earth by practicing the presence of God.  Brother Lawrence brought this home to me many years ago, but through time, career, a few husbands and being a single mom - I rather lost touch with this beautiful little gem of a book:  Practicing the Presence by Brother Lawrence .  Brother Lawrence was a cook in the monestary and he saw God in every pot, every spoon, every vegetable, every sauce he cooked.  He saw it in the dishes he washed, in the floor he swept, in the honor of serving the food he created - with God's help.

How are we present in our days?  Brother Lawrence did this in the kitchen.  We are so far away from our food, and the preparation of our food, that we are hard pressed to find God in our meals or our food.  Do you pray before you start preparing a meal?  I don't mean closing your eyes, silently thanking God or reciting a prayer you learned earlier.  I mean the kind of prayer of the present. 



Look at food.  See the deep green of the spinach, the rich red of the beets, the golden yellow of the pepper.  Notice the creative texture and design of each vegetable.  Smell them, appreciate their beauty, their nourishment, their colors.  Smell each spice you use in your dish and appreciate that beautiful gift of taste and smell.  Appreciate each creative piece of art work this food is.  What fabulous creativity.  What joy is offered to us in this beautiful food.  We didn't even ask for such a precious gift.  It is just given!

This Indian-styled stove-top bread is a wonderful addition to any meal.
 
1½ hours | 1 hour prep | Serves 6 -12

3-4 medium potatoes
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup water
cayenne
salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed citrus juice (, I use grapefruit, but lemon works like a charm)
Kalamata olives, chopped, to taste

1. Boil potatoes in salted water to cover, until tender.
2. While potatoes cook, mix the flours, cumin, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of oil, then water.
4. Mix until this becomes a defined (albeit sticky) ball of dough.
5. Remove and knead until smooth, adding flour or water as necessary.
6. Cover dough with plastic wrap and set aside while preparing potatoes.
7. When potatoes are finished (tender), remove, drain and mash them with cayenne, salt, pepper, citrus juice, olives and 1 tablespoon of oil.
8. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
9. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into 12-inch long snake and cut into 12 pieces.
10. Roll each piece into about 4-inch round.
11. Spoon 1-2 tablespoon of potato mixture into round, then fold over edges to enclose completely.
12. Pinch dough closed and press down to distribute filling evenly.
13. Heat a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.
14. Add another tablespoon of oil to skillet, then pour out (you just want a thin film of oil on pan).
15. Cook each bread for about 3 minutes per side, until brown spots appear.
16. Repeat until all are done.

Serve hot or room temperature