Comfort & Joy February 1999
Welcome to Comfort & Joy! The idea for this concept first came to me when I started thinking about how much the women I know do for other people without taking the time to nurture themselves. We also seem to be too busy with daily life to have a chance to connect with other women. So, Comfort & Joy is my idea of one way to begin to remedy that situation. My vision for this baby of mine is to have two parts to it. You’re holding the first part now---a monthly newsletter full of tidbits we come across and want to share with other women. I’d love to have you guys send me ideas & thoughts & projects, recipes & writing & news which I can include in the newsletter. The second part is a women’s comfort circle, which is sustained through mail, phone calls, visits, gatherings, and adventures. I want us all to “Live Juicy”, in Sark’s words. I think it would be really fun to have a yearly retreat over a weekend. Give me your input. I’ve been feeling kind of hungry for a magazine that combines, say, Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion with Sagewoman and Off Our Backs. That is, happy homemaker stuff with women’s spirituality and feminist principles. Comfort is nurturing each other, Joy is celebrating the "Succulent Wild Woman” in all of us. Sound fun? In we plunge!
Welcome to Comfort & Joy! The idea for this concept first came to me when I started thinking about how much the women I know do for other people without taking the time to nurture themselves. We also seem to be too busy with daily life to have a chance to connect with other women. So, Comfort & Joy is my idea of one way to begin to remedy that situation. My vision for this baby of mine is to have two parts to it. You’re holding the first part now---a monthly newsletter full of tidbits we come across and want to share with other women. I’d love to have you guys send me ideas & thoughts & projects, recipes & writing & news which I can include in the newsletter. The second part is a women’s comfort circle, which is sustained through mail, phone calls, visits, gatherings, and adventures. I want us all to “Live Juicy”, in Sark’s words. I think it would be really fun to have a yearly retreat over a weekend. Give me your input. I’ve been feeling kind of hungry for a magazine that combines, say, Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion with Sagewoman and Off Our Backs. That is, happy homemaker stuff with women’s spirituality and feminist principles. Comfort is nurturing each other, Joy is celebrating the "Succulent Wild Woman” in all of us. Sound fun? In we plunge!
As I write this, the wild wind is swirling snow around the pine tree outside my bedroom window. Just last night, it was 70 degrees, but I guess it’s back to Winter again now. It’s a great time for me because it encourages me to spend delicious hours sunken into fluff reading and puttering in the kitchen. Some of the books I’ve been enjoying lately are Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series. In addition to the original books, there are two new series. One, by Roger Lea McBride, focuses on Laura’s daughter, Rose. The other is about Laura’s Ma, Caroline, and is written by Maria Wilkes. I think I read something about a series coming out about one of Laura’s ancestors in Scotland, too. I’ve also enjoyed Good Faeries, Bad Faeries by Brian Froud, which Kay, fairy godmother extraordinaire, brought to my attention at Christmastime when we visited her enchanted cottage by the Elk River. I’ve really been indulging in mysteries this season, the most fun of which have been by Susan Wittig Albert and by Diane Mott Davidson. Albert’s sleuth, China Bayles, is a lawyer turned herb shop proprietor. The first book is Thyme of Death. Davidson’s leading lady is Goldy Bear, a caterer. In addition to grand mayhem, we are treated to great recipes. The first book is Catering To Nobody.
Speaking of great recipes, here’s an easy indulgence. Mary makes delicious fudge at Christmastime. She was kind enough to pass her recipe along to me.
Dorothy’s Fudge
4 ½ c. sugar 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 13 oz. can evaporated milk 12 oz. sweet chocolate
½ c. butter 1 tbsp. vanilla
½ lb. marshmallows 2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
Place sugar, milk, and butter in a large, heavy saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Cook to boiling. Cover and boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Add marshmallows. Stir until melted. Add chocolate, one kind at a time, stirring each until melted. Add vanilla and chopped nuts. Pour into a buttered jelly roll pan. Cool until firm. Do not beat this fudge! Cut into squares when set. Makes 5 pounds & freezes well.
Another thing I’ve started as a treat for myself is a “comfort drawer”. I collect little indulgences and wrap them in pretty paper. Then, they go into my comfort drawer to become my gifts to myself when I’m feeling bummed out. It’s nice to have a little present to get me through a rough time. This idea came from Sarah Ban Breathnach’s great book, Simple Abundance.
This time of year, I start to get antsy for Spring. When all the presents in the world can’t assuage my Winter blahs, forcing bulbs helps. It’s easy & the result is a breath of Heaven---fresh flowers in the middle of Winter! Here’s how:
Go to a garden store and select some bulbs. Popular ones are Narcissus and Hyacinth. Start with a shallow waterproof container. Buy enough bulbs for one layer, placed about ½” apart. Put a layer of pebbles in the pot to a few inches below the rim. Put the bulbs on top of the pebbles, pointy side up. Add more pebbles to hold the bulbs up. Fill with water to just touch the bottoms of the bulbs. Move to a cool, dark place. Make sure to maintain the water level just touching the bottoms of the bulbs. In about 3 weeks, you should have shoots about 3” tall. At this point, you can move the bulbs to a nice bright spot. As they grow, maintain the water level. When the flowers bloom, you can gloat over having fresh flowers when everyone else is gloomily looking at bare branches.
If you want to gloat over another hot commodity this Spring, send me your name and mail info, as well as a little about yourself, so I can add you to the Comfort & Joy network list. Then, instead of getting just bills and junk, you can actually get letters. I’d like to get all the wonderful women I know together. While you’re doing that, please send me any fun ideas, tidbits, quotes, movie reviews, music musings, book recommendations, recipes, projects, news, or anything else you’d like to share. I’d also like to print some of the ways you celebrate Spring.
I’d like to invite you all to celebrate the Vernal Equinox at my annual Spring Tea, Saturday March 20th, at 4 p.m. This is one of my favorite ways to welcome the new season. Please let me know if you will be able to come for this joyful sharing!
In the meantime, let me share some quotes I’ve enjoyed recently:
“Travelers, there is no path; paths are made by walking.”
-Antonio Madrado
“Accomplish something, have fun, or sleep.”
-Devra Kifer
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.”
-Thomas Merton
“Life is playfulness…we need to play so that we can rediscover the magic all around us.”
-Flora Colao
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
-Albert Einstein
“Travelers, there is no path; paths are made by walking.”
-Antonio Madrado
“Accomplish something, have fun, or sleep.”
-Devra Kifer
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.”
-Thomas Merton
“Life is playfulness…we need to play so that we can rediscover the magic all around us.”
-Flora Colao
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
-Albert Einstein
I hope you all had a magical Valentine’s Day and have a fun Mardi Gras! I look forward to getting your input for the March newsletter.
