Live slow . . .

If you follow anything in the act of it's existance . . . a bird taking a bath, a snowflake falling from the sky, icicles melting, a baby sleeping . . . you'll be taken to the quiet beginnings, that instant from where being starts. What makes these moments so precious . . . is the freshness of their being, their birth . . . and the only way we can notice them . . . is by slowing down.

We often consider inconvenient moments in our life as huge hassels . . . you know the kind I am talking about I am sure. Our bus is late, the waiter takes too long bringing the check, we are kept on hold listening to canned music when we have called a business or the Doctor's, we just happen to get the checkout line at the Grocery story in which the person in front of us ends up having to have a price check or some other such delay . . . they happens to us all . . . these minor nuisances and annoyances.



Sometimes I think it is just karma's way of telling us to slow down, to refind the beginning of time, to take a little breather. Unfortunately most of us are operating in top gear, high paced, running so fast to where we want to be that many of us never slow down until we are forced to . . . through illness or worse. We are such odd creatures in this . . . I am sure if we were to look at ourselves through a magnifiying glass, as if from far away . . . we would look just like a bunch of ants scurrying around, running into things, butting into obstacles and then shaking our heads and running into them again.

Like this beautiful planet we live on, the earth beneath our feet . . . our existance moves so slowly through time, that we often take it for granted. It is only our "busy"ness that makes it seem as if we never have enough time. There is nothing so important that we shouldn't stop to smell the flowers along the way.



Life it too short and fragile not to take the time to see the flower bloom, or the bee buzz . . . to watch snowflakes fall in wonder, to savour the melting of icicles on an unseasonably warm winter's day that we know is just a teaser of the spring that is to come . . . to stop and really listen to our children's laughter, or our husband's soft snores . . . and to appreciate each and every little moment for what it is . . . a gift.

So, the next time you are caught up in traffic and going nowhere, or stuck on the phone listening to canned music . . . savour the moment for what it is and . . . relax. Live slow enough to enjoy the moment.



I am really excited. My friend Sheilagh and her husband Ralph are coming over for supper tonight. I met Sheilagh through her blog, Sixty is Good. She was actually here for my Pampered Chef Party last week, but we didn't really have a lot of time to spend together at it, one on one like. I'm really looking forward to tonight! It will be a blissful distraction from the here and now! I do so love to have people over for meals! I always have done.

Here's another tasty potato dish from my archives over on Marie's Muses. I hope you don't mind me sharing it with you again. My mom always loves my escalloped potatoes. It was when we were eating these one time she said to me that I was just like her own mother, able to put ultimate flavours into even the simplest things. That made me feel good. sometimes I top these with buttered bread or cracker crumbs, which I haven't done this time, but they are a really tasty addition and add buttery crunch! These are so easy to do, there is no making of a white sauce, or pre-cooking of the potatoes . . . simple and old fashioned.



*Escalloped Potatoes*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

These are like the ultimate in comfort food. They are so simple to make and taste wonderful. Old fashioned goodness…it just can’t be beat!

4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
Flour
Salt and pepper
Butter
Whole fat milk

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter a 2 litre casserole dish very well.

Begin by layering in the bottom with a layer of the sliced potato and topping that with a layer of the onion. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and flour. Dot with butter and repeat the layers until all the potatoes and onions are used up. Top with a final sprinkling of salt, pepper and flour and dot the top with butter.

Carefully pour the milk into the sides of the dish until you can just barely see the milk under the surface. You don’t want it to completely cover the potatoes. I use the tip of the knife to kind of lift the edges a bit as I am pouring it in. You want it to come up about ¾ of the way.

Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to bake until bubbly, the top is golden brown and the potatoes are tender (about half an hour longer).

Remove from the oven and let set a few minutes before serving. These are wonderful with roasted meats or even just frankfurters. We always had them with roasted ham and baked beans.