My Kind of Saturday

It's not even 4 pm yet and I'm already really satisfied with this day.

I went out with Eden for our usual Saturday walk in the park and on the way back had to take a photo of this colorful and orderly array of clothes hanging out to dry right by the sidewalk. A white picket fence is not a typical San Francisco sight, but clothes hanging out to dry are pretty common. I'm glad they're not banned here as they are in some states.  Eden and I both enjoyed our stroll on this sunny, cool day, through trees and fresh grass.

 

When I got back home I watched part of my new Yoga for Beginners DVD, and actually followed along. I've tried yoga in different studios, but always find that I feel like a total wreck afterwards, so I've decided to try it on my own. Maybe if I don't feel like I am getting lost, or need to keep up, it will be a better experience. Or maybe I need a personal yoga trainer!

Without really realizing the connection, after deciding yesterday to seriously embark (or re-embark) on a spiritual learning experience, I chose to cook a dish from a book I bought in 2005, 3 Bowls: Vegetarian Recipes from an American Zen Buddhist Monastery. It has a lot of vegetables in it, interesting spices and will be mixed with leftover quinoa from yesterday's lunch. As soon as it cools down, I'm digging in. 

Not content with all the goodies in this vegetable stew, I made immune-boosting turmeric tea, by boiling chunks of fresh ginger root in water, adding turmeric and letting it boil a bit more. After straining it into a glass, I added a heaping teaspoon of honey and some lemon. I was surprised at how good it was. I did check my teeth every now and then while drinking it, to make sure they were not turning orange, since I know how potent turmeric is when it comes to staining your clothes and even woodwork, but I'm happy to report that the teeth are fine. 

I had first heard this tea mentioned in a post on Lucullian Delights, a blog where I have been feasting my eyes for 3 years. Ilva was going to give the recipe for the tea, after she and her entire family recovered from The Flu. Fortunately they all recovered, but I think she moved on to bigger and better recipes, because I could not find mention of the tea in subsequent posts. So I did a bit of an internet search and came up with my own version, and drank it down to the last delicious good-for-me drop! I do have a bit of a headache, though, but don't know if it was the turmeric or the Yoga...