Happy Holidays!

Dear Friends and Family,

Back from a glorious 6 week adventure in California: garlic planting (aka farm therapy), eating the best food in the continent and sharing magical moments with many Undercover Angels and, though I've changed some plans, I'm very glad that I made it home for the holidays. I hope this letter finds you healthy and happy and, while it’s no secret that the holidays can be a particularly challenging and stressful time for many of us, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for being such a positive and delightful soul in my life!

I am thankful for the holiday season as it gives me a chance to pause and feel grateful for all the amazing people in my life, my good fortune, health and abundance of love that fills my heart. As I pack my backpack once more and look towards my upcoming journey to India I feel blessed to have the chance to be home with friends and family for the holidays; a favourite and delicious time of year.

I'm not too keen on shopping and stressing so I've given those up. Instead, I love cooking/eating, hanging out with loved ones and laughing 'till my cheeks hurt! I remember as a child, straining to hear Santa on the rooftop, carefully choosing cookies to leave out for him and I recall the warm fuzzies; the magic of the season as my heart was full of curiosity and awe. Well, now, I don't have to fear the loss of baked goods to jolly old men and I do sleep soundly on Christmas Eve without thumb-sucking, but my heart is still full as I hold that sense of wonder and awe that I find through the music and colours of the season.

We are surrounded by two primary colors at Christmas; red and green. Red has come to represent passion, fire, creativity, and love. Green signifies growth, wealth, fertility, nature, good luck, youth, and hope. As we are greeted with the colors of the season, we are reminded of the complexities of our nature and how each of our lives is a work of art and that we are the artists ultimately charged with creating our own masterpieces.

Aldous Huxley wrote, “After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” The holidays are filled with music and while certain Christmas carols may annoy the hell out of you/me, others can serve to nourish our souls. Music is what feelings sound like!

Everywhere we look during the holiday season there will be both sacred images and superficial symbols. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. I encourage us to screen out as much as possible that brings you no comfort or joy, and focus instead on the magic, mystery, and meaning of the season. mmmm-hmmmm...
I know I'm not one who keeps in touch very well via phone or email... I've embraced the technological age a wee bit more this year and I would like to take this opportunity, however en masse, to reach out and say hello and happy holidays. I'd love it if you wrote back with some of your thoughts and feelings at this time of year. And if anyone is so inclined to share with all my dear friends, please feel free to post your responses on my holiday blog post.

***Please don't feel any pressure to write back or fill in your responses if you're not into it. I don't want to put any stress on your holidays! :)

Please Tell Me About You:

What are the activities that make you really really really happy during the holidays? List out your top 5. This is your list of Holiday Happys. Why do these make you happy and give you a sense of calm?

If you could do anything, there's no restrictions, in 2010 what would it be?!

What has been your biggest challenge this year and how have you overcome it? what did you learn?

What has been something new and exciting you tried recently and how did you feel?

A few things I learned about the holiday history this year that I thought I'd share:

*There are about five million reindeer in the world living in Northern Canada, Lapland, Alaska & Northern Russia.
*Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on oak and other trees. Originally, it dates back as a symbol of peace to both the Druids and Romans. When battling soldiers found themselves under the mistletoe, they immediately laid down their arms and declared peace for the day.
*Santa wears red and white because that's how Coca Cola linked him to their ads dating back to 1931.
*The common abbreviation for Christmas is Xmas, derived from the Greek alphabet. X is letter Chi, which is the first letter of Christ's name in the Greek alphabet.
*The tradition of placing candles in windows during the Christmas season originated in Victorian England where candle lit windows were a sign to passersby that they would be welcomed and offered shelter during the holidays (couchsurfing anyone?!).
*Not only are poinsettias from Mexico, but in Mexico wearing red underwear on New Year's Eve is said to bring new love in the upcoming year...

Check out this humorous, award-winning radio episode from CBC's Age of Persuasion titled Commandeering the Holidays!

Many Blessings,

From:

a bike-ridding, backpacking, dirt-worshiping elf!

(aka Michelle)

Undercover Angels

There are undercover angels in California! Lucky-ducky me, I got to spend 5 days with them in Cardiff-By-the-Sea.

Meet Sam and Brooking: Couple Extraordinaire

Sam-The Wise; oldest son of the Bernier family, who I farmed with for several months and Brooking is his girlfriend, a spitfire lass from St. Louis, came to the wild west in search of knowledge, love and a place to house her collection of succulents!

Things One Can Learn and Absorb from this Fab Twosome:

1. How to host thought-provoking potlucks.
2. That dancing is a religion and a soul-freeing exercise.
3. How to grow and harvest kombucha.
4. You can always go deeper.
5. How to walk a highway in search of Schwan Chinese food.
6. Your home is the reflection and radiance of your heart.
7. Whiskey + ginger ale is a delicious after dinner aperitif.
8. Surfing is a man's sport where one can experience the feminine without the talking!
9. How to make epic Christmas cards.
10. David Deida is a modern day savior.

Thanks Sam and Brooking for opening your heart, your home and many tissue boxes for me, ah-choo!

Thank you!

Chicken Party!

Need I say more?!

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah!

Gobble gobble!!!

On the farm it's all about harvesting the best, organic produce and what better way to celebrate then with the biggest harvest party of the year: Thanksgiving! Lucky me, I got to celebrate American and Canadian harvest this year!!! Mmmmm, pie.

We organized a potluck style Thanksgiving and I made my Mum's famous sweet potato pie (after harvesting over 100 yams!) and kale chips as an appetizer.

And dinner wouldn't be complete at the farm unless there's plenty of garlic around!

This year I brought up some Canadian garlic I got at a market and we made a special place in the top garden for those big, northern bulbs to do their garlicky thing and thrive over the winter. Now, Yael has over a dozen varieties of garlic and she's known as the garlic guru in these parts. Everyone is always surprised that there's more than just the "grocery store kind"! There is actually over 300, try a new one at your market and thank your local farmer for all the love they put into those bulbs!

***

Then comes Hanukkah! Actually, this Jewish holiday of 8 crazy nights doesn't start officially until this Friday, December 11th. But, the Berniers are going down south so they decided to celebrate early with friends.

Yael made a beautiful (c)hallah bread, potato latkes and all the fixings needed for a fun, delicious celebration. Several families joined in the fun and we lost track of time and forgot to play dreidel. The kiddies got pretty sleepy so maybe I'll get to play this family tradition next year!


A Merman, named Arlo, showing off before bedtime!


~HAPPY HOLIDAYS~

Fantastic Mr. Thief!

Just as I was starting to fall in love with California all over again, my faith was tested. On November 29th, at Reading Cinema in Rohnert Park at approximately 7:35pm I was robbed! I had just finished watching the incredible Fantastic Mr. Fox and I was all jazzed up from the hilarity and energy that gets under your skin whenever Wes Anderson is involved. I sang and skipped back to Santa Rosa 11 miles away and only when dinner was served did I realize that my purse was missing.

I must admit I was in the fault because I had left the purse on the seat and wasn't paying attention because I was still laughing and dancing after watching my new favourite film of the year! Go see it asap! I called the theater and they said I could come back and look in the theater while the new film was being viewed. 11 nerve racking miles later, I was on my hands and knees where only crusty popcorn kernels roam... The kind supervisor, Heidi said I could return after the movie to look with the lights on. Round 2 and no purse in sight!

I decided to take down the names of everyone on duty at the cinema and to go back to Santa Rosa to call the police and file a report. Losing hope I started thinking about what kind of hassles were in store for this little traveler and then made sure to cancel my credit cards. I was feeling rather foolish because I usually travel with my valuables separate, but on this particular outing I had both wallets with me containing $170, my phone and camera; a jackpot for any thief!

The police wanted me to come in person to the station, so back to Rohnert Park I flew...after describing the incident and missing articles they suggested we look in a few trash cans around the cinema and nearby gas stations, but no luck.

As soon as we arrived home the phone rang and they had retrieved my purse! I still don't know exactly what happened but the supervisor said after 3.5 hours of looking, talking to staff, etc. she found it mysteriously locked in the staff safe. After 110 miles of driving back and forth, I had my purse back and all $170 was still inside along with my camera, wallets and all! phew!!!

Now, I'm back with my farm family here in Geyserville, California. I'm departing for LA and San Diego on Friday so I'm soaking in the farm life for the next few days. Here's a few pictures of small, macro details that bring me so much joy:



A beautiful, narcissistic Narcissus!



Spouts in the greenhouse, watered and ready to be planted.



Italian faggioli being dried for next year's seed.



A mini-pomegranate found by Erica.



Mushroom hunting in the garden.



Digging for sweet potatoes.



Erica's twins!