Spring is strange here–most days feel like it’s already summer, most nights, like the dead of February. Some days it’s 70. Some days it snows. The flowers in the garden–crocus and hyacinth–don’t seem to care. Spring is spring and the new season cannot be unborn.

In the spirit of all this burgeoning green, I’d like to share a post I wrote last year for The Liberated Life Project, an enlightening and empowering blog written by friend Maia Duerr. It’s called Gardening as Practice. With spring finally here and Easter tomorrow, it seems the perfect practice to resurrect, or begin anew, practices that feed our souls. Happy spring. Happy Easter. Enjoy.

Gardening as Practice

Gardening is my passion. It brings me joy and peace, a meditative practice, challenges and heartaches, a tangible way to help make a difference in the world.

Gardening is a sensory experience. It pulls you out of yourself and into the bigger picture. It teaches you about interdependence, about the cycles of life, and about the transitory nature of all things. Here is how the garden speaks to me, but it doesn’t matter whether you have a 300 square foot vegetable plot or a single African violet on a windowsill. Any one or all of these steps can work for you.

1. Start with your eyes. Eat your breakfast or enjoy your afternoon tea looking out into your garden. Eat slowly, giving your mind time to settle into that green space. The longer you sit, the more you will notice – a newly forming flower bud, a suspect spot or curl of leaf, a lizard hiding under a branch, a bumble bee, the beginnings of a patch of weeds. Do nothing. Make no mental lists. Just notice the space and the details, small and large, within it.
2. Walk outside. Chances are, after completing step one, you won’t be able to resist. The garden will call you to join it. But don’t succumb to the urge to get to work right away. Spend a moment just being with it. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Take in the lush green scent or sharp dryness. Notice the top notes – a blooming rose, the scent of warm herbs. Run your fingers across them if you like, taking their scent onto your skin. Notice then, the bottom notes – the smell of earth, warm flagstone, your compost pile. Embrace the rot. It is what keeps the cycle alive.
3. Move in close and touch the leaves. Turn them over to see if anyone is hiding there. Feel the texture of flower petals, of rough bark, of fuzzy leaves. Reach down into the dirt without your gloves. Notice if it’s warm or cool. Dry or moist. Your fingers will tell you what it needs. Listen and give to each plant what it asks for, one at a time.
4. When the work is done, sit and listen – to the breeze in the leaves, the buzz of the bees, the birds in the trees. Witness all the aliveness that surrounds you, both visible and hidden. Feel it pulsing through you, becoming part of you, to help ground you through your day.
5. If you have herbs or other edibles in your garden, take a tiny taste of one small leaf – sorrel or romaine, rosemary or mint. Let it fill your mouth with its wild green, making that garden a part of what creates you every day.

It doesn’t matter if you have 5 minutes or three hours. If your garden is large and your time short, pick one corner, one plant, one flower. It doesn’t even matter if you have no garden at all. Pick a houseplant to look at, really look at. Sink your fingers into its pot. Feel its roots grow and grow with them. Or visit a friend’s garden, a park, the woods. Look more closely at the weed-riddled median in the center of your road.

And speaking of weeds, please do not consider them a foe to be vanquished, but rather a teacher to be respected. When I lived in San Francisco, I had a huge garden with a view of the ocean. It was beautiful, but completely overrun with Cape oxalis, one of San Francisco’s most invasive and persistent weeds. Everyone told me to put down weed barrier or spray herbicides, whatever it took to get rid of it all. But for me, that carpet of green was beautiful and getting down on my knees with my hands in the dirt to clear a vegetable patch one small oxalis bulb at a time really helped me feel connected to my garden – the plants and the soil, the water and the sky. It got me out there every morning to check on the progress of each squash seedling making sure they hadn’t been overrun. And those weeds kept me there, noticing things I would never have seen had I blanketed the dirt with plastic and set automatic sprinklers.

What’s most important in the garden is whatever gets you outside. Beyond that, it’s just being there that matters, whether pulling weeds, tilling soil, planting seeds, or simply enjoying the flowers. All help to ground you in the earth and the world and connect you to something bigger, putting all that bad news on the television, your child’s ear infection, or the politics at work into clearer perspective.

Outside, things grow. They live and die. The sun shines, or it rains. It doesn’t matter. The garden is there, and so are we.

Spaghetti Squash with Tuna and Chard

1 medium spaghetti squash

1 fist-full of chard stems (bonus if you have the leaves, too)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 cloves of garlic (or two cubes of Dorot frozen garlic from Trader Joe’s)

1 can of sustainably-caught, BPA-free canned tuna in water (or whatever you have handy)

Poke 5 or 6 sets of fork holes in the spaghetti squash. Pop it in the microwave for 12 minutes, turning every 3 minutes.
While that’s going, heat the olive oil in a frying pan. When hot, add the garlic. When the garlic is browned (or melted) toss in the washed and cubed chard stems. Saute until translucent.
Cut the finished squash in half and scrape out the “spaghetti” — there should be about four servings-worth.
Pile squash onto your plate, drizzle with olive oil and salt, add chard, and tuna, and enjoy!
Save the extra squash to eat with tomato sauce, butter and parmesan, or whatever other topping sounds good to you.

Cheater’s Cashew Chicken Curry

1 bag Trader Joe’s frozen Organic Jasmine Rice

1 can Trader Joe’s canned Premium Chunk Chicken

1/4 cup chopped cashews

1 cup Trader Joe’s frozen Organic Peas

1 tablespoon Morton & Bassett organic Curry Powder (or whatever curry powder you have on hand)

1 tablespoon Artisana 100% organic Coconut Butter, broken into small pieces; add more or less to taste (coconut milk would probably be better, but the butter was all I had on hand, if using coconut milk, I’d double or triple the amount)

Cook rice according to instructions on package. Put into bowl with rest of ingredients. Stir. Cook on high setting in microwave for 2-3 minutes. Serves two.

Enjoy.

“The adage “under-promise and over-deliver” is a farce. It only propagates the status quo. Real difference-makers push boundaries. They test, prod, and poke until something gives. You can do this, too, by saying “yes” to more things than you’re comfortable with. Learn to stretch yourself. You might be surprised by what you’re actually capable of. Your confidence will grow, too.”

And so, I have committed to a number of new things. I joined a writing group, took on a coaching job, became co-leader of my quilting group, and signed up to create two quilts for a March quilting show. Yes, March. This March. And believe me, that last one is taking me way out of my comfort zone. Not just because of the deadlines, but because I’ve also decided to make my first two art quilts.

Challenge 1: Create a quilt using the fabrics of blind New Mexico artist George Mendoza

Challenge 2: Create an Irish-themed quilt (the show opens on Saint Patrick’s Day)

I have already come up with both designs, sketched them, bought the fabrics, but that’s as far as I got. Until today, when I started work on Challenge 1. Here are the fabrics I’ve chosen (minus a solid red):

And here, is a rough sketch of my design:

I’m still not sure how the clouds will work and I may change the direction of the lightning, but I got the base fabric (flowers) and second layer (rain) out of the bag and onto the board which is a good first step. Second step — finish sewing the two quilts that are due on February 13th, but that’s another post altogether (as is Challenge 2).

Quilt ideas come to me the same way poetry does. Something catches my eye or mind — a color, a pattern, a feeling, an idea. When that happens with words, I clear my mind, pick up a pen, and let the words rush out. When it happens with quilts, I make a bee-line for the closest fabric store (in town or online) and let the colors and patterns swim together until a picture comes out. When it does, I sketch it, post it on my cork board, and get to work. I especially love quilting challenges because they force me to break out of my usual thought patterns and let the fabric or topic speak to me.

It has been years since I’ve made a quilt, but since moving from San Francisco to Santa Fe I am alive with inspiration. My board is crammed with ideas, some my own, and others inspired by challenges. I am currently working on three quilts: a traditional patterned donation quilt for Quilts of Valor that was inspired by a memoir I’ve been working on about my grandfather who fought in WWII, a challenge quilt featuring the fabrics of local blind painter George Mendoza, and a St. Patrick’s day challenge quilt featuring the Green Man drawn from my graduate school research on the same topic. Oh yes, and of course my Pizza Quilt. What better way to embrace Santa Fe than a southwest-style quilt made for me by my new guild sisters. 2012 is going to be an exciting year.

Photo by Erica Marshall of muddyboots.org

I’ve always been big on New Year’s resolutions. So big, in fact that I do them twice yearly, once on New Year’s and again on my birthday six months later. And they’re not some simple “loose 10 pounds” or “go to the gym” type of resolutions either. They are a multi-category, multi-goal, multi-step extravaganza. Thing is, just like everyone else, by the time the next new year rolls around, I just wind up putting the same old things back into the same old spreadsheet (yes, I’m that girl). Maybe I change a few words here or there, like the name of the novel I swear I will finish this year, or swapping yoga for chi gong, but nothing really changes and the song remains the same. Until this year. Thanks to some wise words from some fellow bloggers, and the new perspective that comes with remaking your entire life.

This year I will set no goals, list no due dates, make no resolutions. This year, instead, I chose a theme. One word that sums up what this year will be about for me. 2010 was all about looking at my life and figuring out whether the life I was living was the one I wanted to live. It wasn’t. In 2011 I changed almost everything in my life in order to give myself a chance at the kind of life I’ve always dreamed of. I quit my job, I moved, I hunkered down. Call this tiny casita a chrysalis, if you will. It is time now, to bust out of the shell.

2012 is the year of EMERGENCE. Of stepping out of the shadows. Of bringing my work out into the world.

And how about you? What will the theme of  your year be? Here are the articles that inspired me in case you need a little inspiration as well:

• Liberated Life Project: How to Do a Reflection and Intention Process for the End of the Year
• The Art of Non-Conformity: 2011 Annual Review: The Beginning
• Zen Habits: Quashing the Self-Improvement Urge, 100 Days with No Goals, and How to Have the Best Year of Your Life

Already I’m learning how much I can accomplish when I stop focusing on the goals and just do the work.

Photo by Mr. Kris (http://www.flickr.com/photos/krislitman/)

As if holiday gift-giving wasn’t challenge enough to navigate when you’re sustainability-conscious and on a budget, December is also the time of year that non-profits bring out their full-court press to drum up tax-deductible donations. Just about every museum I’ve ever been a member of, every medical group I’ve ever visited, every cause I’ve ever donated to has sent me an email in the last two weeks. Some have sent snail-mail as well.

In the past, I’ve been happy to give. In fact, in the past, I’ve made sure to give to at least one charity in each of my three key cause categories: Education, Preservation/Conservation, and Food Security. Some of my favorite non-profits include:

• Central Asia Institute
• Doctors Without Borders
• Donors Choose
• GreenPeace
• Growing Power
• Oxfam
• San Francisco Botanical Gardens
• Santa Fe Botanical Gardens
• Seed Savers Exchange
• Upaya Zen Center

Unfortunately, having just seriously downsized my career, I just can’t do it this year. Not like that, anyway. But if giving is still important, and I believe it is, that begs the question: What does one do instead of gifting cash to all these well deserving organizations? And if you do give, how do you narrow it down to one or two?

Here are my basic guidelines on how to choose:

• Pick one cause — animal rights, the environment, education, whatever it is that most pulls at you. If your are flush with time and/or money, consider choosing more than one cause or donating to more than one group within the cause you choose.
• Narrow to one specific aspect of that cause — I love Seed Savers Exchange for their work in preserving biodiversity to help ensure food security. But supporting the local farmer’s market is just as important. Choose what calls to you.
• Can’t decide? Consider donating to a group with a broad foundation like the Sierra Club or Red Cross.

Once that’s done I begin to look into specific organizations, asking myself:

• Can I support an organization with a membership instead of a donation? Membership support an organization plus gives the member free or discounted access to a world of inspiration — a win-win.
• Can I donate time or goods instead of cash? Can I make or serve meals? Donate from my overfilled closets? Sew pillowcases or holiday placemats?
• Is it local? Do they help and employ people in my immediate community?
• Where does their money go? Is it 100% to the cause or do they spend a lot in overhead and administration? Sometimes those hidden costs are necessary. Sometimes they’re less so.
• What are their mailing policies? Sending out direct mail seems to me a waste of resources, time, and money better spent on the cause itself.

That last one may seem a bit silly, but for me, it’s a sore point every time I open a letter. And that’s the whole crux of this, you have to feel good about what the organizations you support do, otherwise you may not feel as good about giving to them, especially when there isn’t much to go around.

So, who made my list this year?

• Museum of New Mexico Foundation (membership) – Membership and donations provide the support necessary for education and outreach to thousands of New Mexico students, docent and volunteer training, research materials, conservation, acquisitions, exhibitions and special public events.
• Upaya Zen Center (membership) — Upaya Zen Center is a Zen Buddhist practice, service, and training center which focuses on the integration of practice and social action in the areas of death and dying, prison work, the environment, women’s rights, and peacework.
• Quilts of Valor (quilt creation and donation) – The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover ALL combat servicemembers and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.

What won’t change? For starters, the name. That and the content that’s already on the site. We’ll be expanding the garden, cultivating new ground, but there’s no reason to dig up the beds that are already growing strong.

So thanks for your patience while we move things around.

There is an empty pot in the bathroom waiting for a Sansevieria, for starters. I just haven’t found the right plant yet. And then this morning, I saw this:

Fish Tank Terrarium ⓒ Christy at Describe Happy

And I love it.

Now, living in ~ 300 square feet, I don’t exactly have room for a 28 gallon fish tank filled to the brim with skulls and horses and plants, but I could certainly find space at the edge of my desk for something smaller… say, something like one of these:

Apothecary Jar Terrarium ⓒ Michaela at TGE

Here’s what I love about terraria:

- They’re easy to make from stuff you may already have lying around the house, or can find cheap at thrift stores or yard sales

- They can be big or small — whatever fits your space

- They are low maintenance because they are largely self-containted (especially good in water-poor areas like the desert)

- The sky’s the limit in terms of design — create a mini tropical rain forest, a sparse, cactus-inhabited desert, a green mossy hill, or a kitchen herb garden in jars; add marbles or dinosaurs or tiny farmers with shovels and hoes

A few things to keep in mind:

- Choose plants that won’t outgrow the container too quickly

- Keep them in a place where they won’t get direct light

- Water only as needed — there’s no hole in the bottom so excess water won’t drain out

- Remember, the bigger the container, the more plant variety and creativity there’s room for

Check out some of these simple DIY terrarium tutorials (no reason for me to reinvent the wheel when these folks did such a good job with theirs). And as for me… I’ll be keeping my eyes open for the perfect tank or jar and will post progress as I make it.

Fish Tank Terrarium

Apothecary Jar Terrarium

Lightbulb Terrarium

Light Bulb Terrarium ⓒ April at The Hipster Home

I have to admit, I was afraid of it. Afraid of the way it might chill me to the bone, especially given how easily I have always gotten cold. Afraid of the slick sidewalks and icy roads. And yes, I was also afraid of what I might do, stuck here in one tiny room longing for my garden and for spring to come.

I have always been able to garden all year through. San Francisco’s temperate climate means there is always something to do — rake, mulch, plant, trim. The garden is always calling you. But not here. Here the garden is sleeping beneath it’s thick, white winter blanket. You can’t even hear it breathing the world is so quiet thanks to the snow.

I never believed I’d actually say this, but I am in love with winter. In love with the white. In love with the silence. In love with the way the world slows down. It is such an amazing blessing, all this space and time I never knew I longed for.

There is a whole world in this one room, free of the demands of the garden. I have found time to get back to hobbies and projects too long put aside. I have started making quilts again. I have been writing. I have this whole new old life that my lust for greenery had pushed aside, and I am loving it. And I want to share it with you. Because while I am reveling in letting the garden lie fallow, the blog shouldn’t have to. There is enough growth in this one room to keep this space thriving no matter how hard or how long it snows.

Of course that means some things will have to change. This blog will need to stretch out and make room. It will sometimes need to peer into cupboards. It will sometimes need to look out at the world. It will need to find the connection between plant and fabric and word and stone. And there is a connection. It’s called Home.