by Larry-Michael and Becky Lynn Hackenberg
A Weekly Almanac Guide
Plan, Do, Finish, Rest.
Living in Harmony
With Earth
Weekend of
February 3-4, 2024
Earth-Sun-Moon Notes
In A Nutshell…
Third Quarter/Finishing Moon occurs Friday, February 2 at 6:18 p.m. EST. We are just over one third of the way through the Winter Sun Cycle. 46 days until Spring Equinox on March 19.
Whether or not you are experiencing cabin fever, it is a good idea to get rid of clutter in home or workplace about now. Being indoors more during Winter, a cluttered space can get to feel pretty claustrophobic. Let it motivate you into a clearing mode. Items you are finished with can find a new home through Goodwill, church rummage sales, or put into some new use through recycling.
Last Weekend
January 27-28, 2024: Doing
It was time to enjoy the pause of deep Winter and nourish body, mind, and spirit to be ready for Spring’s renewal.
This Weekend
February 3-4, 2024: Finishing
Reduce, reuse, recycle. I just love that phrase. It represents a holistic attitude amidst our cluttered and over-stuffed culture. Look at each word. I bet you can think of something you have done for each of them. Here is a small example.
A simple, light-weight wood-slatted fruit crate came into my possession when my daughter was a year old, and we moved into our first apartment with no money for extras. It subsequently took on many forms and had a long life. Turning it on its side and sliding a board through the side slats it became a two-shelf storage unit for on top of the fridge. Then it became a moving box as we changed residence, then a toy box for stuffed animals. Another stint as a moving/storage box, then part of a three-year-old’s play kitchen, stood on end for a refrigerator as I recall. Eventually it went to use as outside toy storage, then garden tool storage. It was then rescued, cleaned up and used for record album storage. I eventually lost track of its use because it became teenage storage of some kind. That teenager then took it along into her first apartment at 18. That’s 17+ years. For all I know it could still be in use somewhere. One simple little fruit crate that could have gone to a landfill instead had a long and useful life. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Next Weekend
February 10-11, 2024: Resting
Go write this date on your calendar right now, block out the time, and enjoy a weekend of rejuvenating rest.
Musing…from Larry’s journal
A Good Bread
I spent much of my life in the Ann Arbor, MI area. I often bought a simple hand-made, locally produced bread from a co-op store; a good bread that helped make my life less difficult.
Becky and I bought a piece of land and built a house together on Constantine Rd. along the St. Joseph River. At our new location, I was trying to learn how to make a simple house and a simply produced bread. At first I tried to make my bread with my ordinary counter top mixing machine and bake in our stove. I discovered a problem trying to blend and bake dense ingredients for a simple bread.
I ordered a new bread making machine designed and sold by the company Zojirushi (labeled BB-CEC20). I use three ground flours: 1) 300 grams of unbleached King Arthur U.S. Hard Red Wheat, 2) 150 grams of 100% Organic King Arthur Hard Red Wheat flour (both grown on American Farms), and 3) 150 grams of 100% Natural Whole Grain Quaker Oats along with a mild tasting 50 grams of Pompeian olive oil, 50 grams Meijer clover honey, 470 grams water, ½ teaspoon salt, and one teaspoon of Fleischmann’s Bread Machine Yeast. Baked three and ¼ hours.
Sound difficult? Life can seem difficult. A good bread makes life less difficult.
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