Well hello there everyone! Happy November! I always liked November, most likely because my Mum used to make sure my Birthday celebration was epic and it was always something I looked forward to. It sits perfectly in the middle and my brother's (and as it turns out, my husband's) sits nicely at the end... There were always parties in November, so having fun in this (otherwise dreary) month (for most!) is something I have become accustomed to! Not that I am forever looking forward to my birthday as I get older (and wiser?) but the habit has just somehow stuck. And lucky for me, I suppose!

As I may have mentioned before, due to the lack of inspiration to write, weekly, I have decided to write monthly (for now) instead! Tuesday nights used to scare me and I would wake more often in the night, wondering about what words I would choose to string together and similar questions would always arise... What is the point? Why does it matter? So, rather than stress about subject topics and self-deprecation, I decided to let it go a little. I feel much better for it and now look forward to sharing some tidbits with you, instead of that weird feeling of being forced to (which I conjured up all by myself!) Isn't it funny how we are given this gift of life and we try to sabotage our very own happiness through excessive over-thinking and over-analyzing? I wonder if this creepy disposition stays for life and I wonder where it and when it started growing from!! Enough about that. Today's post is about good things. There are so many of the opposite trying to penetrate and drown my brain (our brains!)daily, so why not focus on the light instead? At least for today. At least for now. At least for the duration of this letter...

I may have mentioned previously that we had our very first (Permaculture) garden this year. My husband researched this type of garden (which, after initial set-up) does not need to be (or very rarely needs to be depending on rain) watered, and no weeding has to be done! It was a food forest to be sure (thanks to Geoff Lawton of Australia for the immense inspiration and to Sepp Holzer of Austria!) and we ate from it for months. Among many of the delicious edible and life-giving plants, spices, fruits & flowers to be consumed were PUMPKINS!! We grew many of these big round and heavy gifts, and I have been creating so much greatness with them! I tried my hand at baking my first pie (which soon turned into PIES plural) and had great success. I used a tip from my Uncle who mentioned that his Mama (and my Granny) used to put maple syrup in to give it that extra magical flavour, and it worked! Thanks Uncle Peter!

One of the most delightful things to do while hiking in the forest, is to stumble upon a patch of edible, wild mushrooms. Truly, this simple and natural thing just gets me right where it matters! Isn't it funny that my Great Grandfather, Dr. Hans T. Gussow published a beautiful (hard cover) book all about mushrooms?? I suppose some things (passions!) DO run in the family! Well, pictured above is the "Shaggy Mane" or the "Inky Cap" mushroom (or in Latin, Coprinus.) I posted a photo of one that I had come across, and was quickly tuned-in by many that it was indeed an edible (and delicious) mushroom but... There are rules to this one.... For instance, very quickly it become in-edible. When it starts to turn "inky" or that dark purple -you see the beginning of that in some of the mushrooms in the photo above- they lose their deliciousness. Also there are some very important characteristics which it has, to determine whether it is the real thing or an intruder! When you find the good ones (all white and shaped in a VERY phallic symbol I might add!!) all you need is a frying pan, some butter, salt and pepper. Voila! A delicacy! Thank goodness for Social Media, otherwise I would not have been enlightened to these small wonders!!!

Sometimes you have to go out in search of stimulation all by yourself. I find being alone can do me wonders. I Love some alone time, being alone does not always equate with being lonely, to be sure! This bench, along the shores of the Lake of Thun is a spot that I Love to sit in wonder and breathe in all that is right about the world. There are just so many things to be proud of, happy with and inspired by, sometimes you just need to search for it and remember! Clarity comes to me beside the water, more often than anywhere else.

And, of course, the stage. Or rather, Home Sweet Home. When I have a listening crowd and we are together within a musical journey, this gives me the most feels. There is something about that secret and silent energy that flows between the musician and the music Lover. It arrives in the form of Goose Bumps or heart pumps but when it comes, I am at my soulful-est. I am ever so grateful to have been blessed with the gift of music, and even more so at the acceptance from my family, peers and fans, who continue to encourage me to keep going at it. And go at it I do! There is a deeper feeling now, as I get older and surface things no longer matter as much. The music will and always does speak louder.

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