A morning bath

December 10, 2018 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in My life, Writing 4 Comments

It was a long week. Yesterday I was on the couch for two hours dozing on and off with my husband and plain spacing out. I had to tear myself off the couch to go to a lovely, monthly workshop where I cut images from magazines and paste them to a card. I also get to spend time with good people there. Yet it felt overwhelming. I walked away from that not sure it was the place for me to be yesterday afternoon except that I read the magazines as much as I cut and pasted. And I may take a break on Oprah and subscribe to Vanity Fair. I took away Bianca Jagger’s morning ritual of a hot bath and warm lemon water and threw in a dry body brush. It’s not going to happen everyday. But it hit me that taking that time to care for myself, when I feel most overwhelmed and unable to accomplish all that needs to be done may be the highest priority to be effective. Taking a brush to my skin and moving it in long sweeping strokes from the extremities towards the heart while drawing a bath, boiling water and squeezing lemon into it and then just sitting there in hot water, just sitting there and taking a few breaths and feeling grateful, that was important.

Joy, appreciation and abundance. That’s what I’m thinking about today. I’m at least trying to roll that in with picking up the produce, prepping at the restaurant, shopping for dad, picking out a wet christmas tree, decorating enough to remind us it’s the holidays, working on the logo and business plan, re-evaluating our health insurance, making time for friends and so on, etc etc. Far more tasks than time available so I pull out the time sensitive priorities and do the best I can. Don’t get me wrong – many of these things I love doing – they just require time. I’m also simultaneously working on delegating, giving myself a pat on the back for what does get done and realizing/ recognizing this day will have a beginning, middle and end, no matter what I do or don’t do.

That’s all for today! No pictures even… imagine that.

wendy

ps… changed my mind. This is the card I made at Soul Collage yesterday afternoon.

Wild Island Wild Life

December 5, 2018 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in My life, Wild Island, Writing 10 Comments

It’s been a year of food no doubt. Recipes and menus galore. Cooking everyday for home and business. The year began with Star Route Kitchen and is ending with Wild Island Restaurant. Photos were taken on a regular basis and posted on FB, Instagram and sometimes tweeted but sitting down to write a blog post obviously didn’t happen. I came to peace with it. For the most part. Though I missed/miss the writing time, it never made the cut. This led me to reflect on the presence of my blog and others. How the platform has shifted. How we have even less time to read posts or less attention span. Am I speaking only for myself? There is just so much information available to us 24/7. Wonderful and exhausting at the same time.

I’ve made promises to myself to write regularly and they stuck about as long as a New Year’s diet. I also turned 50 this year which I have a couple draft posts about. I even thought about “catching up” and filling in this last 8 month gap. Why? Because I think in five years “people” would be reading the history wondering well what did she do from March-Dec 2018? Yeah- I let that one go.

So that brings me to now. What do I want to write? What do I have time to write? What’s relevant to a reader here and/or what moves me to write despite who reads it. Does it keep a personal edge, does it stay strictly business, do I shut it down, do I change the name… etc. As of this date, I’ve cycled through a few life chapters since starting this blog in the fall of 2011 in Hamburg, Germany. And it’s all here to peruse. How bizarre is that?

Have I already lost everyone but my family? There’s no enticing pictures yet:)

I’m going to stop here. I might write again soon and start the Wild Island story. I’d tell you about it being my favorite restaurant since it opened in January 2017. And how several years prior I started plans for an organic juice bar. I’d tell you that on August 8th 2018, it was on the front porch you see here that we were presented with the possibility of buying the business.

cheers, wendy

Finding beauty in January

January 25, 2018 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in farm animals, farm time, Livestock, My life, Nature, Orcas Island, Photography, Star Route Tags: #StarRouteOrcas, daydreaming, farm animals, farm life, nature, Orcas Island, rain 18 Comments

It’s easy to feel a little low energy on these gray January days despite the increasing 1-2 minutes of light each day. I needed to bring in a little positive vibe and motivation so I took my camera around the property on a little discovery tour. January can be beautiful too.

I started in the garden. Kale trees in the rear. Chard debating whether to start growing again. Red cabbage planted out in July, I’m hoping it will overwinter and grow cabbages in spring.

I’m hoping the broccoli, also planted in July, will put off early spring shoots.

This little broccoli head stopped growing a couple months ago but is still strong and green. Any chance it would still form a head? (Not a rhetorical question!)

Overall view of muddy, wet garden just for winter reference.

Moving to the pasture…Irene is tired of the mud I’m sure.

Else loves pumpkins and doesn’t appear to even notice the mud.

Sometimes they share…sort of.

On to the barn…This barn we are loving was built by Drew Reed on Orcas. It’s high and dry. One day I’ll post the project in full. We started in a very wet March 2017 and finished Sept 17.. tbc

down below the barn the goats eating leftover veggie bits from Star Route Kitchen.

On up and around to the backside of the property to the pond.

The pond overflows this time of the year…

And creates these beautiful forces of water.

I met with friends this week and took away ideas, support, motivation and some good laughs. One thing in particular we talked about, around planning, was scheduling in time to just think and daydream- like Socrates and the Greek philosophers did. They weren’t just sitting around doing nothing. They were only creating the basics of our modern philosophy. I know I need this time as well and it’s hard to prioritize it because you aren’t “doing” – you’re not even meditating. I think it’s something missing for many, as even the short free moments, in the elevator, filling up the gas tank, or waiting in lines, we are plugged in. I’m going to sit and stare out the window- at least a few times a week and channel some greek philosophers.

Any suggestions or thoughts on how you like to daydream? And keep it nice!

Want to hear a fantastic podcast? Tom Hanks on Beautiful Writer’s Mind.

Winter! Do your work- for the money and the soul (maybe you’re fortunate enough that it’s the same thing), your tasks, your yoga, your meditation, your care giving, your workouts… and remember to make time to just daydream. You’ll like it:)

Lighter shades of gray for just a little longer each day now. Weather Underground

SUNRISE: 7:50 AM SUNSET: 4:59 PM
Length of Visible Light: 10 h 17 m
Length of Day: 9 h 08 m
Tomorrow will be 2 minutes 42 seconds longer

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White Kimchi with Pear & Fennel

March 13, 2017 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in Asian inspired, Condiments, Fermenting, Fresh and healthy, Lacto fermentation, My life, Vegetables, Writing Tags: #midlifeawakening, #StarRouteOrcas, Cured magazine, Darra Goldstein, Edward Lee, fermenting, IACP, kimchi, vegetables 15 Comments

Inspired by the fermenting demo at 610 Magnolia with Chef Edward Lee, I made this white kimchi with pear and fennel within days of returning home from the IACP conference in Louisville. It’s loosly based on the recipe from Smoke and Pickles by Edward Lee.

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Cuban Ceviche

February 15, 2016 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in Appetizer, dinner, Fish, My life, seafood, Travel Tags: Ceviche, Citrus, fish, Florida, Halibut 27 Comments

You know the feeling when you haven’t talked to an old friend or relative for ages? Maybe even one you are pretty close to and that you really like and care about? And you keep waiting for that perfect afternoon when you are carefree and ready to cozy up in your favorite chair or kick back on the couch and just dive into a conversation for hours with your 100% undivided attention? But then days go by and months and you have fleeting glimpses of perfect moments that slip through your fingers. And you’re like hell- just pick up the damn phone and call- RIGHT NOW.

Cuban Ceviche@ wendyellenthomas.com

And really whether it’s been months or over a year- you can just start right where you left off with this person- some smiles, some laughs, maybe a little sorrow- but you are just fully present. Can you see my point here? I don’t have to spell it out in anymore detail right? I’m picking up the damn phone and don’t have anything glorious to share here or really even the time to share it if it were. But we just got back from Florida and we had some killer ceviche in Miami and I was like BAM- get some pics of this stuff and let people know you haven’t let go of this blog thing!

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got GOATS!

May 18, 2015 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in farm animals, farm time, My life Tags: farm animals, farm life, goats 34 Comments

Hi campers! How was your spring? We are busy little monkeys around here. I took an unspoken blogging “break”… lots of real time action for us has meant putting my photos and writing on the back burner.

We had a couple of kids last month! Basically from November 20th when our Nubian doe, Shirley had her “encounter” with Jimmy Mac until about 2 weeks before Shirley gave birth- I wasn’t 100% sure the deed was done. After all, the moment consisted of little foreplay and lasted about as long as the time it took Ollie to unscrew his coffee cup to check how hot it was. We had anticipated a little kickback time and literally it was done as he screwed the cap back on. But then Rocky and Jane happened April 22nd…

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NYC Feb 2015 Walk about and more…

March 1, 2015 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in My life, NYC, Travel Tags: Abc Home, Eataly, Gotham West Market, NYC, Rhinebeck, Tarrytown, Tiny's, train 26 Comments

The larger part of our week was spent roaming NYC and hanging with my awesome son who is living a totally grown up life. I’m so proud and I still can’t believe he’s been on this earth almost 27 years… WHHHAAAT?!#$%%

We often meandered from the apartment in Tribeca through Soho… Look water leaks in the big apple

and north on Broadway stopping at Dean and Deluca’s – here’s a pic of one of our vendors- Big Picture Farm- great folks with lots of goats in Vermont- These caramels are back on the shelves now at Chez Chloe in seasonal boxes and cello bags- chai, mocha latte, raspberry rhubarb… yum

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Happy New Year

January 14, 2015 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in Asian inspired, dinner, farm animals, Fitness and Health, honey, My life Tags: Flu, remedies, soup 21 Comments

Finally. Your new year probably started a couple weeks ago. But our first week felt like a hiatus between the lines of time. Now we are looking ahead at travel plans to NYC for the Gift fair. Excited to get back on track with yoga and exercise… you know that momentum of righteous resolution. After days of barely having any appetite my buds re-calibrated post holiday to not needing so much sweet and I already dropped my holiday mid waist luggage.

We nursed a gnarly flu with the following arsenal… This is how we do it.

Herb pharm echinacea goldenseal blend. I’ll take this 2-3x day

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Raw Energy bars

August 23, 2014 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in farm animals, My life, Nuts and Seeds, Raw Foods Tags: dates, dried cherries, nuts, raw bars, seeds 29 Comments

Hello again…

Summer is winding up and we are flush with garden vegetables and fruits yet, I still love to make these raw nut and seed bars. They are a nice fit after yoga or to help fill in the hunger gaps creeping into my afternoons. I’m one of those people that rarely awaits the pang of hunger. Now and again I like to feel it… but rarely.

Print: {organic raw nut and seed bar}
I use a base of almonds, cashews and dates and sometimes hazelnuts get thrown in depending what’s on hand. I find the cashews help a little more with binding and it’s important for it not to be too dry or they really crumble apart. I’ve tried my new vitamix (which I LOVE) but really this recipe is working better in the cuisinart.

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new faces on the farm

July 12, 2014 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in farm time, My life Tags: farm animals, farm life, goats, sheep 40 Comments

We’ve been so enjoying the summer. I’m especially loving the feeling of warmth into evening. That’s maybe the only thing I miss about my home state of Florida, the sleeveless shirts worn into the evening. Although, rare is the day I wear a sleeveless shirt and I can definitely live without the sweltering heat of a day in central Florida. We did have a fantastic visit last month to my sister’s in South Florida- nice family and beach time. I also tripped down memory lane and toured Chloe around my high school. The instant we discovered my graduation stone, we looked at it, then at each other and tears welled up. A sort of cosmic connection that ventured outside of real time. She felt, for that moment, standing in front of my high school, connected to who I was at 18. A glimpse of recognition that I too have been there. It was bittersweet. My best friends Melissa and Kelly- and who we liked/”loved” at that time. Little did I know at the time that my good fortune would bring me an amazing son only a couple years later. Thanks “J”.

And now our new farm friends:)

We have real live livestock. We put up a big fence. Built a goat shed and got ourselves three goats and two sheep. We love them! They are so sweet, funny and curious. We are all getting into a new routine and getting to know each other. The plan is to breed both goats and sheep in the fall and start milking in the spring. And here they are…

Meet blue eyed Dinah. She is a cross of La Mancha and Nigerian Dwarf. A total sweetie who craves attention. April 8th of this year, my birthday, I happened to be in the store filling in for someone. My mood lifted when I met Sherwin from Mountain Lodge Farm. Within minutes I learned she was a goat lady. I quickly stalked her farm and found there was an upcoming open house in May. Ollie was happy to go. I left out the part of the story of her four starter goats turning into over a hundred, supplying the milk for a full on dairy operation. Point here is, Dinah is one of her babies. It was fate.