My Cozy Corner

Authenticity

Hello, and welcome to My Cozy Corner. It’s a busy day, but I am glad you chose to join me. I need a little coffee break. How about you?

Over the past couple of years, I have shared the things that I am doing to grow. Even as we grow older, we continue to evolve and learn new things. We now have the time to get to know ourselves better. I am currently taking a course called “A Year of Writing to Uncover the Authentic Self” by Rachel Astor. I find myself at yet another crossroads in life, in which another part of my identity is stripped away. It’s not the first time, and I’m sure it probably won’t be the last. You, no doubt, have had experiences in your life that changed your view of who you are.

My purpose now is to find the real me underneath all of the things that I thought identified me: a wife, a mother, a daughter, a nurse. I’ve moved on from all those things and now I am on a quest to get to know the real me. I hope you will join me on this journey. Each time we break through we reach a new understanding of the strength we store within ourselves.

I’m always up for learning new things and they are all around if we are paying attention. What did you learn new this week? I learned that in southern India where it is extremely hot, the people keep cool by bathing or showering and changing clothes several times a day. A very hot day is a three-shower day.

I’m in the process of changing a lot of my furniture. I’ve never been one to be trendy, but I did find out (quite by accident) that the colors I chose to use in my new decor are this year’s “in colors”. They will be with me for a long time whether or not they stay in vogue.

My dining area (not really a room) is quite small and the furniture that I had in there was old and large. I replaced it with more streamlined pieces. I ended up having much more storage in less space. My style would best be described as Bohemian Cottage, which means I did keep my dining room table and chairs. The table is made from an old commercial floor furnace register from a bank in downtown Denver. I don’t know if there is such a thing, but it is the best descriptor I could come up with. When a friend’s husband died a couple of years ago, she started redoing her entire house. I could not understand that at all. But, when I got into the same situation, I learned how healing it is. I also learned not to be to quick to be critical if you haven’t experienced what someone else is going through. I hope I don’t have to keep relearning that lesson!

The tomatoes are still producing in amazing numbers. My personal favorite is to eat them fresh with salt. However, with a little research I found some great options.

Tomato Cucumber Salsa

3 medium tomatoes cut into large chunks

1 large cucumber peeled and cut into large chunks

1 large handful of cilantro (about 1 cup)

Juice of one lemon

3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled (to your own taste)

2 fresh jalapeno peppers halved (remove the seeds for a milder salsa)

1/2 tsp. salt.

Wash and prep all produce. Place in blender or food processor along with the lemon juice and salt. Pulse a few times until it has small chunks of vegetables. Taste for saltiness and add more if needed. You can serve this right away or refrigerate for later use. The flavor will increase with refrigeration. I plan to freeze this in small containers.

I always love the change of seasons, and I’m happy to live in a place that has four seasons. It will soon be time to put the patio and gardens to bed for the winter and enjoy cozy evenings in front of the fireplace.

Thank you for spending part of your day with me.

Until next time,

Helen