What Mayans Can Teach Us

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Babs
Tikal, Guatemala

Tikal, Guatemala

With all the talk about the Mayan calendar, I started thinking about our trip to Belize in 2011. We stayed at a resort called Five Sisters Resort overlooking the sparkling Five Sisters waterfalls and nestled in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. Part of our package included guided tours of the area, and a trip to Guatemala. (The resort now has new owners and is now called Gaia Riverlodge)

Cave Canoeing in Belize with our Maya guide.

Cave Canoeing in Belize with our Maya guide.

Our Belizean guide was a Maya named Calbert. Pictured here he is talking to us about the Chicle tree, which was the tree Wrigley originally used to make chewing gum.

Calbert showing us gum tree.

Calbert showing us gum tree.

Calbert was knowledgeable about all the flora and fauna in the area. He may have had more than the average expertise regarding herbal remedies since he spent time with his grandfather who was a medicine man. The Ancient Mayans were known to for the advanced knowledge of science, astronomy and medicine. Many of the common medicinal plants he showed us were; St. John’s Wart used to treat depression, Bugleweed for anxiety, Passion Flower for curing cravings and insomnia, Peppermint tea for relaxation. So much of this knowledge was lost when their culture collapsed.

Ceiba Tree

Ceiba Tree

Their civilization is said to have fallen because their leaders, who were able to reveal the cosmos, build architectural wonders and an empire, failed to consider how they were depleting their non-sustainable resources. They then became victims of drought and famine. That may help explain why the Mayan descendants we spoke to were supportive of any government initiatives to protect their invaluable environment including unique; plants, trees and wildlife.

Morpho peleides

Morpho peleides

My understanding of the detailed workings of the Mayan Calendar are limited. I know they have three inter-connected wheels; The Long Count, The Haab, and the Tzolkin. The Tzolkin calendar uses a 13 day week and a named week of 20 days. The Mayans were better with numbers than I, so I can’t provide anything new there. When I asked Calbert what he thought would happen when the Mayan Calendar ended on 12-21-12, he replied, “We will start a new calendar.”

Green Breasted Mango Hummingbird

Green Breasted Mango Hummingbird

So that’s what I’m doing today. This will be my opportunity to begin again. Looking forward to the opportunity to create some new habits today. In light of that I plan to begin with the idea started by NBC New’s Ann Curry, and do “26 acts of kindness”– one for each of the victims killed last Friday. Now I’m thinking why can’t we do this everyday.

Posted in gratitude, Inspiration, life | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

facebook_-863609761I started thinking about fruitcake when my sister returned from Italy last week. She was going to try to bring a Panattone but didn’t have room in her suitcase.

I wondered about the history and started researching online. Some sources claimed that the Egyptians placed a version of a fruitcake in the tombs for loved ones to have food in the afterlife. The earliest recipes traced back to the ancient Romans list ingredients like: pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, raisins, honey and other preserved fruits.

We actually have a German Stollen in the freezer. I’m not sure any more why we haven’t eaten it.  I guess a year isn’t old for a fruitcake.  I found a couple of stories online that mentioned a 125 year old fruitcake.  An 83-year-old man named Morgan Ford living in Tecumseh, MI was preserving this fossil in glass.  In 2003 the post says he took his great-grandmother Fidelia Bates fruitcake to share a piece with Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show.”

Cafeteria Mom

Cafeteria Mom


All my childhood cake memories are folded into my mother. There wasn’t a cake she couldn’t whip into shape. The sloppy mingling of butter, eggs, flour and sugar expertly ushered neatly into pans. Transformed by the oven into perfect pillows of warm fragrant sweetness that perfumed the house for every: birthday, communion, anniversary, graduation, or holiday. My mother was a creative soul trapped in the body of a traditional housewife. She was an intuitive baker and cook. Many of her culinary creations were made from memory and frequently improvised. She never used a recipe.

I do have an amazing recipe for fruitcake. Handed down to my sister from her mother-in-law. When I made it last year I had to alter it slightly. I soaked the fruit overnight in rum instead of adding the wine. Otherwise I pretty much followed the recipe bellow. I made the nine smaller loaves pictured above. Unlike the darker much maligned fruitcake these were all eaten within days. Word of warning they are addictive.

Rosemary's Fruitcake Recipe

Rosemary’s Fruitcake Recipe

Rosemary's Fruitcake Back

Also if anyone knows this family in Tecumseh, Michigan, I’d love to hear if they are continuing to preserve their fruitcake.

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Babs | 9 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Babs

Sandhill Cranes Migrate

Here in the Midwest this time of year daily we mourn the inevitable end of warm weather. Then a back and forth move to Fall before the chilly, gray slide into Winter. Like most I revel in the kaleidoscopic scene change to splashy golds, oranges, maroons, and other rebellious hues of our Autumn leaves. More recently I’ve come to view the migration of the Sandhill Cranes as another gift of the season.

Personally, I find myself undergoing my own transitional shift this time of year. Becoming more creatively pensive, reflective and eventually reformative, and finally moving forward to new work.

I thought this photo did a nice job of capturing the mood; the cloudy heavens, glints of blue sky and the sweet surprise of a soaring silhouette.

Posted in art, Inspiration, life | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments