Year of the Tiger-A twelve year cycle

I find it amazing how once you have children they become a marker for the years passing.

This past January I was standing in line at the post office and killing time by looking at all of the stamps they carry and it hit me–the stamps out this year were Year of the Tiger-my Chinese astrology year!

This is significant because my son and I share this year, and in that moment  it all came flooding back.

Twelve years ago January I was  5 months pregnant with our son when someone pointed out to me that I would have a tiger baby?

Not knowing what this meant I started asking around and discovered the wonderful world of Chinese astrology, along with the fact that I was also a tiger year.

In Chinese astrology, there are 12 animals one for each year and so it is a full 12 year cycle from each persons year/animal to the next.

At 24 this thought was inconceivable to me-12 years felt like light years away, and yet here I am now 36 years old with a son due to turn 12 this summer and the time has flown by!

The year Zubin turned 10 and Zahra 6, I started feeling different, I was not sure how, but slowly over the entire year I began to understand, I was changing and not as interested as I had been in the childbearing years.

This was pretty big stuff at the time, as I was knee deep in a business with a specific focus on women giving birth.

As I started reflecting on why I was feeling this way, I realized that I knew while I was pregnant with Zahra that she was going to be my last baby, at the time she was 6 years old.

Twelve years after my first child I have now come full circle,  I had birthed at home in water, nursed each child for 2 years each and lost a a baby in between by miscarriage at 11 weeks.

I had been an advocate for natural and sacred birth with many, many couples, gave birth to two businesses one in Midwifery, and one in home birthing and now I was moving into another phase of my life.

All of this hit me as I stood in line at the post office and realized that this year marked the end of a 12 year cycle, now was the time for change……

A week later I looked up year of the Tiger for 2010 and was astonished to see what this year means for those of s with this sign:

“Drama, intensity, change and travel will be the keywords for 2010, this year is one to be active – seizing opportunities and making the most of our personal and very individual talents.”

Ok–I am off to the races then!

Soule Food

One of my favorite things to do is cooking and baking,  find it meditative and it actually helps me relax.

I also love reading Blogs about folks who cook-I have found many a fab recipe from other folks Blogs!

So today I decided to add a new category called Soule Food, and to post some of the food I like to make, as well as to share some Blogs I love to read that offer great recipes-plus cooking Blogs seem to be all the rage right now,so there is a lot to choose from!

Last night the boys were out at Soccer so Zahra and I got busy in the kitchen making up some Sushi.

I used to make it all the time-back when there just seemed to be more time….

If you have never made it before, it is actually easier then it looks, you just need the ingredients, which are pretty easy to find these days.

Here in Vancouver as there are as many Japanese restaurants as Starbucks {one on every corner}.

Our favorite place to pick up sushi goodies is Fujiya, and we stick to the simple veggies ones like kappa rolls, and Inari rolls etc…

Charm for a Swarm of Bees

Last week with the warm weather, I was on swarm call.

Not for the bees in our back-yard mind you, but for the established BeeCause bees a block and a half away from here, and only for a day.

In the end they were fine, verrrry busy and ready to possibly swarm, but fine all the same,  and now they have a new addition to their home to grow into, which will hopefully keep them happy and give them the space they need.

So when I stumbled by this charm on-line last week and thought it was perfect, since I have never seen a swarm-let alone helped contain one, so I thought it might help if the need should arise{tongue in cheek here*grin*}

I also love that the bees are referred to as wise women.

Anglo Saxon metrical charm for a swarm of bees

Take earth with your right hand and throw it under your right foot, saying:

I’ve got it, I’ve found it:
Lo, earth masters all creatures,
it masters evil, it masters deceit,
it masters humanity’s greedy tongue.

Throw light soil over them [the bees] as they swarm, saying:

Sit, wise women, settle on earth:
never in fear fly to the woods.
Please be mindful of my welfare
as all men are of food and land.