My Cozy Corner

Good Grief

It’s hot—it’s cold—it’s hot—it’s cold. Some days we have the furnace on in the morning and the ac in the afternoon. That would be Autumn in Colorado. But I do love this time of year. This morning I’m sitting in the almost empty Starbucks with my coffee and a treat. I hope you will grab a cuppa and sit down to join me.

Ouch! The very first question in this week’s lesson on Authenticity was, “What was your very first experience with grief?” I hadn’t really thought about that before. We all have a grief experience somewhere back in our history. We may not have seen it as that at the time, but it was there. The adults in our life may not have seen it either. Especially if you came from my generation when it was believed that children did not have big, grown-up feelings. But, grief, well handled, can be a real experience of growth. However you work through the process is the right way. Just don’t allow yourself to get stuck.

You may have wondered about all my redecorating in my house. Well, I will tell you it has been very healing for me; part of learning to be who I am. It is the first time in my life I haven’t had to compromise with anyone. Compromise is fine and I’m grateful for the seasons of my life that I have done that. However, this is part of becoming who I am.

I got to have not one, but two adventures this week. My friend Fran and I went to lunch and to Golden Gate State Park. That’s a destination that has been on my list for years. Another check mark on the bucket list! My second adventure was lunch with my “Lunch Lady” friends. This time we had Greek food. I hope you are making sure that you have adventures in your life too.

The tomatoes are still producing like crazy, but the rest of the yard is ready for fall clean up. Not my favorite task! That’s what I’ll be doing next, when I get home. I do like the exercise! This week I used some of those tomatoes to make pasta sauce, which I will freeze for later use.

Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce

3 or 4 large, ripe tomatoes

1 28 oz can of tomato puree’

1 12 oz of tomato paste

2 cloves of garlic, chopped (may add more to taste)

1 Tbsp dried basil or mixed Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp sugar

Mix all the ingredients (except the tomatoes) together in a large sauce pot. Place the tomatoes in the food processor and pulse a few times until they are coarsely chopped. Mix them in with the other ingredients and simmer on low for at least an hour. You can also place all of this in a slow cooker for several hours. Add additional seasoning to your personal taste. Sometimes I add a few red pepper flakes. This freezes well.

I hope you are enjoying this new season and it will be a time of renewal for you after what has probably been a busy summer for you. The holidays are just around the corner, so use this time to refresh body and soul.

Thank you for the gift of your time,

Helen