Category: Medicine Basket

#Magic!ContemplationsFairy GrandmothersFiltersMedicine Basket

Surprise! (Well, kinda…)

Posted on by sue boardman

It’s been a bit of a week, in my world. I’m guessing you can relate!

Paintings hatching. Yay! Tech challenges. Less Yay!!!

Garden “springing” into life. World bat-crap crazy.

Yesterday, while my physical therapist buddy was busy sticking needles in me and mashing on things that hurt, we were chatting about things that feel good, even in the midst of the crazy.

Baking came up! Specifically, pie!!! Pie is very much a comfort and belonging thing in my experience. One of those ways we’ve always done it in my mom’s family. And, you know… even remembering that made both of us feel better! So, just for you… and there’s another gift at the end!

Authentic Key Lime Pie (with a Gluten-Free Variation***) MAKES: One 9 inch pie, about 8 servings

This is the real deal – yellow colored – Key Lime Pie. Better yet, with the Oatmeal Pie Crust shell variation, it’s gluten-free! And everybody loves it! This is the recipe right off the Nellie & Joe’s bottle of Key Lime juice. You can order it from Amazon or try Whole Foods or Publix depending on where you are. Sometimes the DeKalb Farmers’ Market even has some! Did you know that the pie has sweetened condensed milk in it because the recipe was developed before Key West had dependable milk delivery or refrigeration? Really!

Equipment Note: You can use a food processor, hand or stand mixer to do this, but a wire whisk will do. A mixing advantage is handy if you opt for homemade whipped cream. I often use an Eco-foil disposable pie tin with the domed plastic top when I make this. 

Arrange oven racks so pie will bake in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 F. 

In a suitable mixing bowl, combine and mix well:

            One 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

            3 good egg yolks. (Reserve whites for another use.)

Add and blend until smooth:

                        ½ c. Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice

Pour filling into:

                        One 9 inch prepared Graham Cracker pie shell***

Bake for 15 min. Remove from oven and place on rack. Allow to sit 10 min. before refrigerating.

Chill several hours or overnight.

Optional: Add to mixing bowl, preferably metal:

                      1 pint organic, heavy whipping cream

                        1 Tbsp. 10x powdered sugar, if desired. 

Whip cream rapidly by hand or with mixer, until soft peaks form.

If not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. 

Just before serving, top pie with whipped cream. 

***Fabulous Gluten-free Oatmeal Pie Crust with Vegan Variation

Equipment Note: A food processor or Vitamix-type blender is used for this crust recipe.

I found this magical crust option on an old, yellowed index card, in my mom’s handwriting, when I went through her recipes. I don’t remember her ever making it. What a gift for Bill & Taylor who avoid gluten! See how many ways you can find to use this like you would use a graham cracker crust, but better!

Into the bowl of your food processor or carafe of your blender, place:

            1 c. gluten-free rolled oats

            ½ c. brown sugar

            ½ c. flaked or shredded coconut

Pulse until ingredients resemble a fairly fine meal. Add:

            1/3 c. melted butter 

Continue to pulse until all ingredients are evenly mixed.

Press into bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate.  Cover with plastic wrap or lid to pan. Chill.

(Vegan Variation – Replace butter with 1/3 c. melted coconut oil)

From all of us – including Our Lady of Fierce Compassion (aka Mary Magdalene) who feels much needed in this moment!

ps… what’s calling you forward, now? You know, even beyond fabulous pie? Could you use help with a new kind of recipe… the kind from here to there? I have a cool new adventure offer and you’re invited to check it out! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 min. My gift. You bring a cuppa, journal & pens, and a glimpse of a dream!

#Magic!ContemplationsFairy GrandmothersMedicine Basket

It’s Medicine Basket Time, For Sure!

Posted on by sue boardman

Let’s be real, up front! As much as I cherish the Red Thread around my wrist and the medicine in my mythical basket, the world is still a mess! A huge mess, actually. But, for this moment, we’re going to talk about some other things that are true. Some hopeful things!

And, no… that’s not avoidance. It’s the place where two of my favorite coping strategies meet.

Voice & Choice!

My current journey in that place started with an invitation from Shiloh Sophia McCloud, the leader of Intentional Creativity.® There was a huge graduation celebration going on in California… one I would love to have attended in person, though that wasn’t in the cards just now. In addition to completing the Color of Woman journey – for the second time! – Shiloh asked if I would be open to being a Curate. My reply was simple… With honor!

And, yes… the magic works long-distance, too!

Now, to be honest, I don’t know exactly what this will look like as time goes on. It’s a new-ancient thing in our community. A way, I suspect, of responding intentionally to all the things shifting around us.

Here’s what my inner word-junkie discovered, with a bit of button pushing…

Cura is Latin for care or cure and refers to the underlying concept of responsibility, management, or healing found in words like care and cure.

Some sources suggest that the role of grandmothers – whether as spiritual anchors, traditional healers, or primary caregivers – is a vital response to the specific needs of their families and communities. One example is the biblical Queen Esther who risked her life by approaching the king to intercede for her people… that she was, perhaps, born for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).

Another meaning has to do with collections, like art in museums or books in libraries.

That all feels really huge to me right now. And scary. And essential.

As usual, I am painting. And doing laundry and making soup, with a rather surprising new sense of purpose.

I am also writing. In fact, I signed a publishing agreement this week! (Stay tuned!) Let’s just say that it is, indeed, a Grandmother project for such a time as this.

Here’s what I know for sure… this world needs our voices. It needs our choices. It needs our advocacy. And our Littles need to see us engaged in all these things.

I am deeply honored to stand beside Shiloh Sophia McCloud, Sangoma Naa Kwarley, Kelly House, Clair Oaks, and Dr. Cheryl Boudreaux in this ongoing lineage of Curates.

ps… just in case you hear my drummer-friend calling you and your dreams, too, let’s talk! You have, indeed, got magic and I have a fabulous new way to help you claim it and put it to work. Curious??? Click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 min. My gift. You’ll want a cuppa, perhaps a journal, and a red thread if it’s handy!

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Me, taking my own advice!

Posted on by sue boardman

Nope! That’s not me. It’s a peek at under-layer number two of my work-in-progress #alchemist painting, Glinda. Turns out, she’s fussy.

She can also be bossy. And I am choosing to pay attention! Around here, that often means fishing in the Medicine Basket for a timely bit of magic.

My sore, cranky right wrist was thrilled when I pulled the whole dominant/non-dominant question and answer magic out of the basket! (Hang with me…) Basically, that means an inquiry, written with my dominant hand – the sore one! – some waiting and, eventually, a received response, written with my non-dominant hand, which is way less sore.

This is an adventure I love for more than pain management. It’s a brilliant neurological strategy for hearing things that weren’t conscious before. And, yes… it utterly wonders the I’ve been in there surgical nurse who still lives inside me!

And, I just had a new ah-hah, literally as I’m typing this!

What if… maybe, just maybe… we’re here on this planet, now, to keep learning new things that help us stay on the road? Things that could also help others stay on the road???

And, what if this ah-hah is the big sign-post on my sabbatical journey??? The meta-mod version of my sense of calling…

My old friend, Frederick Buechner, is happy dancing in the great beyond. He’s the one who first taught me that the sudden flash of tears we get is the surest sign of truth we have.

Here’s the thing, though…

I believe that, after the gift of a sudden flash of tears, we are called to do something with that new truth!

One step at a time. (Okay, maybe 2 or 3!) And that means a map!

Now, here’s a thing you may not know about me…

I’ve never been very good with directions. Or maps. The only reason I did well in middle school geography was because I was good at staying in the lines when we had to color maps!

Turns out, I needed to make my own map! Specifically, my MAGIC MESSAGE MAP®!!!

And, it’s working!!! Working so well, in fact, that I’d love to help you make your own MAGIC MESSAGE MAP® from where you are to where you feel called to be! (Glinda will be delighted to help, too, even before she’s fully present on the canvas!)

One of the steps along the road might just be laying down things that aren’t helping. I’m about to do just that. I’m expanding my notion of Sabbatical to include a vacation from Facebook. In the next week or so, I’ll be closing down my pages for a while. That’s why NOW would be a really good time for you to sign up for my email list, if you’re not already there, so that you don’t miss out on anything! (That’s what the pop-up thingy is for on the main page!)

ps… And, then, there’s the step after that! If you’re feeling the call to bringing your kind of magic into the world, let’s talk! You, me, and Glinda – even in the midst of the chaos! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. Our gift. It’s the next right thing!

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Choices!

Posted on by sue boardman

So, I kind of broke my own rule. Too much news!!! Too much, as in way more than my nervous system finds helpful. And too much of that on Facebook, which is a whole other ball of wax!

As much as I wish I could, I can’t change all the sad, tragic, infuriating, ludicrous stuff at once. And even really, really dark chocolate only helps so much. (Well, maybe less than it seems!)

Blessedly, I got tired enough to sleep!

Then, it happened. A visit from Glinda – my #Alchemist painting – in my dreams. And she was in a mood to spread some magic! You see, we’re making progress on our book, she and I, enough that she’s even made an appearance, below!

I’ve been working on beginning steps like the table of contents and cover art. She, on the other hand, is in full-on adventure mode. In this case, the adventure called choice!

Choice, as in turning off the news and picking up a paintbrush. Joan Baez is, of course, part of the team!

Also choice, as in what we’re trying to accomplish. You know – big picture!

And choice, as in being gentle with my exceedingly cranky right wrist.

And choosing – again – to walk the talk from Pope Leo XIV, during this Lenten season:

… let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media, and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.

Side bar: I just got off the phone with the GrandTeen who’s turning sixteen. Exactly the reminder I needed for why all our choices, in this moment, matter so much! They’re all counting on us, and my biggest choice is to stay all-in, doing whatever I can to follow in the footsteps of Our Lady of Fierce Compassion in these days.

ps… If you’re feeling the call to bringing your kind of magic into the world, let’s talk! You, me, and Glinda – even in the midst of the chaos! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. Our gift. It’s the next right thing!

pps… I’ve you haven’t yet, now would be a really good time to get the annoying pop-up thingy to add you to this email list! (More choices are on the way in my world!)

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So! Fix a cuppa & hang with me, please…

Posted on by sue boardman

Today, in the faith tradition where I hang out, is known as Ash Wednesday. The beginning of the season of Lent, on the way to the wonders of Easter.

What I grew up knowing about Lent was mainly what I learned as a child in a very Catholic neighborhood where, according to my friends, it was a time of even more things you’d go to hell for, if you did them.

Fast forward, please, to last night and my dream of my first Lenten journey in the first church I served, in a tiny town in Tennessee. It turned out there were lots of things we hadn’t covered in seminary!

Well, maybe I missed a few as a single mom trying really, really hard not to fail Hebrew!

Anyway… there I was, in 1991. Cold, grey weather. Planning for Lent. My congregation had never had a service on Ash Wednesday before but the Worship Committee (all 3 of us!) were cautiously curious, so the planning began.

The pianist was delighted. The nursery helper was thrilled, too. Message… no problem! Logistics, on the other hand, became a challenge. My first question was where to get ashes for the service.

Nobody knew. I called Cokesbury, the store for all things church-y. They didn’t carry them. Turns out, tradition includes drying palm fronds from Palm Sunday the year before, saving them all year, and burning them for ashes the next year. Not so much an option!

Next phone call to the pastor in the big church up the road. As it happened, they hadn’t done that either, but he graciously offered me ashes from his fireplace and I accepted with relief.

In case you’re curious, we all survived our new liturgical adventures!

This year, I have a different plan. A very personal one, inspired by a new teacher, in the context of this very odd moment where we find ourselves… Hear the words of Pope Leo XIV:

I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves.

Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media, and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.

Now, I understand that, by tradition, the Pope is infallible so, rather than presuming to edit his wisdom, I’m going to go with one of my favorite grammatical strategies and add – you guessed it – a postscript!

ps… let us strive to do this in all our communities and interactions. I know I won’t get it perfect. I’m pretty sure perfect isn’t the point. Perhaps, awareness and choice are the point! In any event, with huge thanks, I’m going to practice!

pps… lately I’ve been thinking about all the things we carry that feel unexpressed. And, I have some new magic for changing that. If this speaks to you, let’s talk! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. My gift!

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“I do – I do – I do believe in magic!”

Posted on by sue boardman

The last time I said this aloud, it was nearly a year ago. We were planning for the beginning of Red Madonna… the annual journey a whole lot of wise women make into the land of the Divine Feminine and traditions of painting and writing in community.

Notably, that same conversation is about to begin anew and I’ll keep you posted, for sure. Today, though, the magic is a bit more personal. You see, there’s a new book hatching and, last night, the cover began to appear!

I know… not much so far. And the High Museum is not likely to fight me for it! Here’s the thing, though…

It’s a doorway! A doorway for me to pass through to allow the book to come forth. A doorway for me to begin to see what I know and feel… what I’ve made a promise to share. Now.

Promises can be scary!

Showing up as who we really are can be really scary. Especially these days. And yet, it is – I believe – the reason we were imagined. Created. Nurtured.

You, wise soul, have already guessed that there’s a whole lot more wandering to go on the path to an actual book cover. Here’s the amazing part…

I’m not worried! I know what I’m trying to accomplish. I know who I’m working to reach. I know what consciousness windows I’m hoping to open.

And, in a lot of ways, life is like that!

We start with questions and move on to answers that matter to us. Step by step to an opening where others can join us. Where we can set our magic free in a world that so needs it!

For this moment, I also need a bit of space for Valentine’s Day which is happening for us with Sunday brunch. And, possibly, a few more heavy body paint spatulas… there’s a wee neighborhood hardware store just across the street from the restaurant! Romance is in the eye of the beholders!

And, just in case you’re feeling the need for a magic wand tune-up, let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. You bring your dream. Your promise, perhaps! A cuppa, of course. Journal and pen. We’ll talk next right things. And, quite possibly, pull a card! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up. (Patience appreciated… the calendar is a bit wonky just now!)

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I am declaring “Real Deal” Day!

Posted on by sue boardman

The canvas is, indeed, my work-in-progress for this moment. And, you know??? I’m really proud of it! There’s a whole lot of musing, there. Of claiming what I’m actually trying to accomplish, deep inside. There’s also a good bit of moving on from what wasn’t working, before.

And, yes… I’ve been watching the news! (You do the math…)

You’ll have to take my word for it, but the canvas you’re witnessing is on about her third attempt to become my #Alchemist painting. Turns out that creating such a thing involves taking the huge mental-emotional risk of believing that alchemy – the good kind – might actually be possible, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Here’s the thing, though… I have to believe!

I have to believe in Creation with Intention and Love. In Hope. In the wild notion that we can learn new things and see farther than our own vested interest.

At least, enough of us to go on.

If you’ve been hanging around a while, you probably already suspect that this is me, being one of those five people for myself. Those five people we all need who – as my old friend Steve Glenn taught me – listen to us, take us seriously, and don’t shame or blame us for our questions.

Here’s the part I don’t remember Steven mentioning, all those years ago… the part it seems I had to learn for myself:

In order to really do that for anyone else, we have to learn to be one of those five people for ourselves!

And, yes, it’s likely that you’ve heard me mention this lately. It really is the best thing I know in terms of things we can actually choose and do!

In this moment, it’s time for buttons. (Stay tuned! They’re way more comforting than news!)

It’s also time to claim Hope where we find it!

ps… I have some cool new ideas about doing just that! Do you have a dream? A path that needs claiming? A next right thing? Let’s talk! 45 min. on me. Your dream. My new process offering. Just click here and the elves will find you some space on the calendar. Hurry, though. There’s just one place on the path open!