Day 28: Happiness is . . .

A note of appreciation to the library staff on a box of donuts. Gotta love our patrons.

The realization that even though we are sick of the rain and cooler than normal temperatures, the spinach and lettuce in the garden loves it. Yummy healthy salad with dinner.

 And today most importantly, Happiness is no more stink coming from the ventilation system of my car.

 $169 dollars, a new air filter, a deodorizer and the removal of a mouse nest, cured the smell that has been plaguing me for three days. I do have to say that the new smell in my car is that of a woman I have never met and am not sure that I would like her if I met her, but it is better than the smell of dead rotting mice.

Happiness comes in crazy packages.

Day 10: Happiness is:

Sunshine!

It gives you fruits and vegetables in your garden.

A Happy dog.

  And Sunflowers.

Today was a wonderful day. A good meeting for local library board members about finance with a tasty breakfast from Hy-Vee. The afternoon was spent playing with the dogs, swimming in the pool, and eating a yummy Indian dinner.

If you are not into Indian food, this may not look so good, but, the Indian spices are so delicious it really is wonderful.

Happiness is having a nice day, enjoying the sun and appreciating the food that you eat.

Day 3: Happiness is:

Waking up before the alarm clock.

So that I could go with Tracy to the Grape Harvest before sunrise.

Coming home from a photo outing by 8:30 a.m. to pick a muskmelon that grew in my garden from seeds thrown away last year.

Yummy. Also had a bacon, spinach and tomato sandwich. Tomatoes and spinach from my garden. More Yummy.

Went for a swim with my husband while the sun was still out, finished printing images to enter in the Sandwich Fair.

Happiness is a fulfilling and delicious day.

Taro Planting Prayer

This taro field is up near Princeville on the island of Kauai. The leaves of the taro plant are heart shaped and shimmy in the wind.

E Kū-iki-olo walu –e,
I olowalu ka huli I ka mākālua a kāua.
I olowalu ke kalo I ola ka kahi’ ai,
I ola ka noho hale,
I ola ka ōhua
I ola ka ‘ohana,
I olo na malihini kipa mai,
A i ola iā u ia (ka inoa o ka mahi’ ai)
‘Āmama Ua noa.

O Kū-iki-olo walu –e,
May the taro top in our planting hole grow large.
May they grow large that I the planter may live,
That the dwellers in the house may live,
That the dependents may live,
That the family may live,
That the visiting stranger may live,
That I (planter's name)may live.
‘Āmama. It is free of tabu.

Collected from Daniel Kaonohiokalani Hoolapa © 1920 by Theodore Kelsey. A taro planting prayer in Na Pule Kahiko, edited by June Gutmanis and printed in Mana Cards: The Power of Hawaiian Wisdom by Catherine Kalama Becker, PH.D and Doya Nardin

This year I have felt a strong need to plant a vegetable garden. To grow some of my own food. It is a ecological and health decision. After listening to the book, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, watching Food, Inc., and reading so many other things about where our food comes from and how little nutrition is has by the time we put it in our mouths, I decided to take action. I have been purchasing fruits and vegetables at the local farmers market, but in Illinois, that is a limited time deal. I thought that I could heal the earth and myself just a little bit by planting nutrition and beauty. It is a challenge, and the above prayer is my mantra these days. I send it out into the world with love, and hope for healing and growth.