Yesterday at Ross' direction, I gathered many dandelion plants. He wanted me to make breakfast and was very specific about what to make with them. I took two small potatoes, yukon gold, diced them, and sautéed them in olive oil in my wok. Then, when they were soft, I filled it all the way up with the soft, tender dandelion leaves I had picked. They wilted beautifully and were a small amount in the pan, about equal to the potatoes. Then he had me scramble one egg--without milk--and add it to the mix, stirring carefully.
I ate the whole thing in my best bowl, and didn't even need seasoning. Usually I add tons of salt.
This kept me full for a long time.
My back yard doesn't have grass. The gardener thinks I'm crazy to let the weeds grow. I look at it differently. They want to grow here, they grow with little effort, and I don't want to be at war with them in my yard. I've lived here for one year almost, I've never used pesticide. And I've fed them to my rabbit the whole time. That's when I got the feeling that perhaps, anything so able to thrive, might actually not just be a weed, but might be good for me and my family.
I looked it up. Dandelions are well known as edible. Younger leaves are not bitter--mine haven't been bitter at all. (you must know that Anthony and I can't taste PTU, the bitter taste strips. That's how we can enjoy black coffee too. The dandelion might be bitter but we just can't taste it). Rich in vitamin A, dandelions are known to cleanse the liver too. Science is backing up the folklore at this point, and the actual chemicals which do this are known and have names that are long and I'm not going to mention them but they exist.
Dandelions are good for bees, too.
I am letting the soft leaf ones go to seed.
But some are very, very spiky. They even hurt to pull them up.
Guess what?
I've seen rat activity in the compost pile. There was also some poops in the woodpile. Our dryer sheets and peppermint must have worn off.
A flash of insight struck! What if I take all of the worst, most painful weeds--and they are tall!--and piled them all over the compost pile? Hmmm?
That was a double gift from nature, was it not?
Even Anthony had to say, mom, that was clever... <3
There is a little bit of a rebel in me. I guess it got put there when I went to Berkeley for University.
There is nothing so against 'The System' as telling people I eat my dandelions in my yard. My next-door neighbor who was watering her pool couldn't believe it. She had to ask twice, 'you EAT your dandelions?!'. My gardener thinks I am freaking nuts--crazy woman. I'm not so happy with him. He's chopped down my entire crop of arugula, and just last week, the baby sweet peas which were working their way up through the weeds next to the fence.
I say I am ahead of my time.
Being in harmony with nature is a priceless gift.
Be on the lookout for the gifts of the Earth. Mine just happened to be dandelions this time of year. Whatever your gift, if it is local, it is right for you. Even our honey we eat, if it is local, is good for us. Honey from other places has pollen we aren't used to that made it. But the local one is already in harmony with our delicate biological systems.
Ross wants me to share updates from China:
- I saw a couple from Hubei province who gave up their newborn baby girl for adoption--with a note saying that they couldn't work, they were homeless now because of the outbreak, and would someone please give a better life to her. They attached a note, and a jade charm, and left her somewhere. It was very sad, and I pray for that family.
- My friends continue to be on quarantine. One is a teacher, they want her to go back to work, and she refuses. One of her best friend's husbands quit his job because the couple decided not to take the risk. They would rather wait it out.
- None of her friends have gotten sick.
- Yesterday was February 2 of the Chinese Lunar calendar, the day called Longtaitou. It means that the Dragon raises his head and is thriving. A haircut on this day is the beginning of good luck.
- People tracking the sulfur dioxide emissions say that normal is around 200 ppm and they are over 1200 ppm in China now. This only comes from burning organic material. There is a Himalayan guy doing the math on the crematoriums. He says that they have ordered over one million portable incinerators, industrial ones, that can process thirty bodies a day. His estimate of the death count is much higher.
- Financial experts say that China has a lot of leveraged debt. With this lockdown, the economy is going to tank and tank hard.
- It's not even just China any more. My niece is studying abroad in Paris. Last weekend she went to Milan. She flew. And I had this feeling that came over me I couldn't explain but it was 'how stupid could you be to risk that?' -- it was a combination of doctor and auntie protection in full gear. And sure enough, where is the lockdown and outbreak starting in Europe? In that same exact region. Watch the news to see what comes out of it. Empty shelves are real. Even Anthony is saying, 'mom I thought you were a little crazy to stock up, but now, since there's a chance it could happen here, it seems smart. I'm glad you did it.'
- I am on some Italian FB groups. You have to prove your heritage to join. And they have the REAL news. People are freaking out, scared, and very distrustful of what the news and WHO and governments are telling them. They also have some who say it was old people who died and would have died anyway, it's making too much of a big deal.
- Our confirmed cases 35 (35 to fifty they said--what is it, right?) are coming to a made-over abandoned building in Costa Mesa here in the US. I commute through that town twice a day. I actually used to live there. So it's hitting home. I'm not worried. I do know my risk of exposure is a lot higher because of my work. I am okay with it. I know I have my shield. My entire family has their shield. Even Lauren has it. Everything else, I figure, is the last obstacle between here and Home. So mentally, physically, emotionally, I'm going to go for it. Nothing can stop Ascension!
clap! clap!
Ross reminds me Anthony needs to get to swim practice this morning. Fortunately it's an hour later than I thought, and my work starts at ten a.m. today.
Aloha and Mahalos,
Namaste,
Peace,
Ross and Carla
Your Family who loves you One Hundred Percent! No matter what!
Let's Do This Thing!!!
