Deep thoughts on a Wednesday morning . . .

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I was thinking yesterday . . . and you know how that goes! Sometimes I come up with something profound and sometimes I don't! I think yesterday that I did . . .

As we journey through this life of ours we often struggle with what we bring along with us on the journey and the things we need to leave behind. I am a bit of a clutter bug in real life . . . and as difficult as I find it to throw away tangible, touchable things . . . I sometimes find it even more difficult to throw away all the baggage that I have a tendancy to carry along with me as I move forward in life.

I don't think I am alone in this . . . but it came to me that if I can not learn to do this . . . I risk drowning beneath the weight of it in a river that should be flowing clearly and smoothly into my future.

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I think a river is a good example to use . . . the water that rushes through it isn't owned by the river bed, and yet they share an existance that is co-dependant on each other . . . the force of the water which flows through the river bed shapes it . . . and the river bed itself keeps the water flowing. Still water grows stagnant and muddy in due course, filled with algae, unclear and hard to see through . . .

It is the same with our lives . . . if we cling to our pasts, hanging on to things that would be better left in the past . . . holding back the flow of water in our river . . . we too can become stagnant and muddy, filled with algae in an unclear present and a difficult to see future.

The past is the past. We cannot change it. All we can do is to make amends as best as we can, in whatever way that we can . . . and then . . . leave . . . it . . . there. We must learn not to pull the weight of it along with us into the future. It is crucial, and life changing.

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We can learn to lay our pasts at the feet of the Saviour and accept the Grace and Forgiveness He so freely offers. There is nothing that we have done that He cannot forgive and make right. We are promised that if we bring them to him . . . He will carry them and wash them away.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
~Matthew 11:28-30

He can make the muddy water of our lives clear and clean again. I promise it to be so. I know it to be so. People may never forget. They may always hold your past against you . . . you have no control of that. Leave it with them. Let it be their baggage, don't let it be your own. If the Saviour has given you permission to drop it and leave it behind . . . then that is all you need to know. You can just . . . let . . . it . . . go . . .

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Just my ponderances on this November morning. Thanks for humouring me.



I did another little piece yesterday afternoon. I used a different technique with this one on the background. I did my little character and then covered her with some masking fluid and then I painted in the background with my water colours and I sprinkled salt on it while it was still wet. Not a lot and I used a combination of regular table salt and some sea salt flakes. I love the result it gave. Very textural. As usual it is available as a print or a card. The perfect gift for that Diva in your life n'est ce pas???

I have a veggie box delivered every second week in the winter months when we don't have our garden to rely on. We just love fresh vegetables and it works out a lot cheaper than buying at the shops, believe it or not. We just get a small fruit and veg one and it is enough for the pair of us. There is often something different in it that you would pay a bomb for at the shops. This week it was a celeriac. A celeriac is quite similar in size and shape to a Swede, except it is all nobblie and has a mild flavour similar to celery but not as strong. It makes lovely soups and is great in stews. It's even nice roasted. This week I mixed some of it with some potatoes and made a very delicious celeriac and potato crush. It's nice to have something different once in a while don't you think?



*Celeriac and Potato Crush*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Celeriac has a lovely mild flavour that goes well with most things. It makes a lovely soup and goes beautifully in a gratin. Another way we like to eat it is in this delicious potato crush! Simple to do and oh, so very tasty!

1 ½ pounds floury potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
(use a Maris Piper, King Edward or Idaho potato)
¾ pound celeriac, peeled and chopped into one inch cubes
3 TBS milk
1 TBS double cream
Sea salt and white pepper to taste
2 TBS finely chopped fresh chives

Put the potatoes and celeriac into a pan of lightly salted water and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer them for about 8 to 10 minutes until tender. Drain well in a colander and then return them to the pot.

Place them over the burner and give them a shake to really dry them out.

Lightly crush them along with the milk and cream. Try to leave them with some texture. You don’t want them too smooth. Stir in the chives and season them to taste with some sea salt that you have rubbed between your fingers and a dash of white pepper to taste.

Serve hot.



Over in The English Kitchen today a delicious Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagne!

“The divine love of God turns ordinary acts into extraordinary service.”
~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf