Living Lessons
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How to Make Simple Sourdough Bread @ Home: Bread Machine Instructions
In March 2024 I went to a Sourdough Workshop and learned how to make sourdough. Everyone was sent home with 25g of starter and basic instructions of how make it yourself. After months of practice in the kitchen I’ve finally perfected my loaf and my sourdough process – I am sure this will be ever evolving but I wanted to share my step by step guide. In this recipe the bread machine is only going to be used to mix your ingredients, we are not going to bake the loaf in the bread maker. Are you new to sourdough? If so, you can check out some of my top tips…
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New Beginnings under the Cherry Blossoms
Every March I travel to Washington D.C. for work and it was an annual tradition for my Mom and I to meet in the city several days in advance of my meetings. We enjoyed exploring museums, monuments, galleries, and trying new restaurants while logging many miles of walking each day. This year I went to Washington D.C. for the first time since my Mom passed away. I knew this trip would bring up tender emotions and a yearning for her presence, but it would also bring memories to mind that I have not thought of in some time. While stepping onto the Metro platform for the first time I was…
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Sowing the seeds of Love
My Mom had this custom window made with the quote, “Sowing the seeds of Love.” For many years she had this by her nightstand and at one point it was on the front porch to share the message with those who came into her home or dropped off a package. While I always enjoyed the window I hadn’t spent too much time really pondering it’s importance and why this message was one my Mom felt inspired to have custom printed onto the window. After my Mom passed away I asked my Dad if I could have the window and he brought it out to me during his last visit. Since…
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Living Lessons: Bloedel Reserve
Today is my Mom’s birthday and to celebrate I spent several hours at Bloedel Reserve, a gorgeous botanical garden located on Bainbridge Island. The vision of the reserve is to provide refreshment and tranquility in the presence of natural beauty. I allowed myself the time to slow down to really see the natural beauty that surrounded me as I walked through the gardens – to see and appreciate the recently unfurled fronds on the ferns, the fresh green leaves on the trees, the spring bulbs emerging from the soil, and the bright pops of color in the flowers. This visit also gave me time to spend in prayer and to…
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Living Lessons: Mother’s Day 2021
This morning after a long walk thinking about and celebrating my Mom a neighbor offered to let me cut some of her gorgeous purple lilacs. I eagerly accepted her offer and thanked her for her generosity and kindness. As a child my Mom would ask me to go outside and cut fresh purple lilacs for the farm dining room table and the scent of lilacs brings me back to that time in my life. I recently learned that purple lilacs represent spirituality – this one word, spirituality, summarizes my Mom and her dedication to knowing and understanding who she is (and who each one of us are) as the beloved…
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Living Lessons: Tulips
I believe that there are beautiful lessons to learn from nature and one of my goals on this site is to share the lessons that I have learned with you. When my Mom passed away in late October 2020 my Dad purchased a variety of bulbs (tulips, iris, blue bonnets, allium) to plant in my Mom’s garden at the family lake house. My older brother planted the same bulbs at the family farm and I planted them at our home in the Pacific Northwest as well. Over the past several months we’ve all been sharing the growth of the bulbs at our homes and photos with one another. This past…
