Here are a few of my favorite quilt designs from years past.

ZW Quilts, Blue & Gold Japanese Garden

ZW Quilts, Owl Triad

ZW Quilts, Red French Decadence

ZW Quilts, Babushka

ZW Quilts, Blue & Gold Angels

This year I read Stories of the Saints, by Carey Wallace. A beautifully illustrated book filled with wonderful stories. I loved learning more about Saint Nicholas and how he got woven into the Christmas season. I found out there is a Saint. Zoe. Who knew?  So here is the weird thing. For the last 7 years I have had a ceramic tile, with the word FAITH on it, hanging in my bedroom. I found it at a secondhand shop for a few dollars.  When I read about Saint Zoe, it said she is the saint of FAITH.  It gave me chicken skin, as we say here in Hawaii. Do you have a favorite Saint? I ask Saint Anthony to help me find things, and I’ve always admired Saint Francis for his connection to nature and animals. My favorite Saint is Hildegard von Bingen. She has written much about spiritual life, health and composed some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard. Treat yourself, listen to the Voices of Angels – perfect with a cup of tea and a bath – you will feel heavenly. 

Saint Zoe of Rome

Loneliness happens, especially during the holidays. Sometimes a simple text can cheer someone up. It feels good to be remembered, to be included and loved. How many simple holiday cheer texts can you send out this season? 

Wishing you and yours a life of peace, health, joy, family and friendships. Cheers to living a sacred life, Zoe 

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My son will actually ask for this meal by name, a rarity in and of itself. He told me that it is his comfort food and I agree there is something very special about this soup. It can be made in about 15 minutes and has only a few ingredients. The combination of these ingredients becomes a magical, hearty soup, only one bowl needed and you will feel full, warm and nourished. Try it yourself and let me know if you like it. 

Zuppa Pavese – pronounced – zoopah pahvesay 

Ingredients

Butter or ghee

Crusty bread – but any bread will do, a piece for each person

Broth – any broth will do, we use chicken bone broth, 2 1/2 cups per person

Eggs – 2 per person

Parmesan Cheese – grated

Ground Nutmeg 

Ground Black Pepper – course

Fresh Cilantro

Preparation 

Melt butter in a saucepan (medium heat) , brown/toast the bread in the butter on each side – put each piece into a soup bowl when it’s done.

In the buttery saucepan add broth, keep on medium to low heat. Add the raw eggs one at a time – you will be poaching them in the broth. It must come to a boil very slowly so that the eggs stay intact. 

While that is coming to a boil, prepare the bread in the soup bowl – sprinkle parmesan and nutmeg on each piece – as much as you like. Pick cilantro leaves (de-stem), and set them aside to add to the soup at the very end. 

Once broth has come to a boil – keep it on a very low boil until the eggs are cooked to your liking. We like our eggs a little soft in the middle. Turn off when eggs are done, and scoop them out immediately and put on top of bread pieces in each bowl. Then pour broth over bread and eggs. Sprinkle your bowl of soup with cilantro leaves and top it all with the black pepper. Bon appetito!

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I love cooking, whether it be winter or not. It doesn’t feel like a chore to me unless I am very tired. Cooking is the only art form that uses all five senses. I’ve always loved trying new recipes, learning how to make my favorite meals, and mastering the art of creating healing foods – broths, soups, stews, teas, juices. One of the only times of the year that I bake is at Christmas. This is when our family makes Christmas cookies, Swiss style. We  turn on the Christmas music and get out our fancy cookie cutters called springerle to make beautiful Christmas art. 

I’ve explored a variety of cookies over the years. We’ve done simple sugar cookies, butter cookies, chocolate chip, gingerbread, and chocolate shortbread. Then one year I decided to learn the art of springerle. Springerle are Swiss cookie cutter molds. The originals were made with wood and nowadays many are made with a strong resin. There are thousands of designs, all intricately carved scenes that you stamp onto your cookie dough creating a cookie scene vs. a cookie shape. Because my son is half Swiss this has become part of our family tradition. There are many different doughs that are considered traditional springerle dough, all of them are spiced, similar to gingerbread, but much lighter, no molasses is added to the mix. 

Other Swiss traditions we keep in our family include following an advent calendar – it’s mostly for the children. They get to open a little window, which usually hides a small piece of chocolate inside. On December 6th, my son gets to put a boot outside the door to see if St. Nicholas is going to bring him some treats or Krampus will bring him coal. He has lucked out so far. Swiss Christmas celebration is practiced on December 24th, our Christmas eve. That is when presents are opened and a big family dinner is held. It is very likely that on December 24th or 25th a meal of raclette might be served with a variety of accoutrement. This is a meal of melted raclette cheese served with boiled potatoes, cut up vegetables and sometimes meat, often bacon. The Swiss will enjoy winter sports during the day such as skiing, snowboarding, iceskating, and sledding. Hiking is popular too. The most magical part of a Swiss Christmas is the tree. Instead of putting a string of lights on the tree, the Swiss have actual candles that are clipped to the tree and lit, as in real fire. It is so beautiful and slightly scary too. Every shop is decorated with beautiful romantic Christmas scenes. Switzerland in December becomes a real life fairy tale. 

Wishing everyone wherever you are a wonderful, magical, cozy winter season. Aloha from Maui! 

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Moab Utah

Moab, Utah

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 The ocean floor was getting further and further away. It must have been 300 feet below me, the water was so clear I could see every fish, coral and seaweed with clarity. I also saw a school of barracuda in the distance. No fear entered me. I’ll never forget how on this particular day, at this particular moment, I had NO fear, none, zero, zip, zilch, nada. Thinking back, it doesn’t even make sense. I just kept swimming, it was dolphins or bust at this point, I had come too far.

After a 45 minute swim I made it to them, hundreds swimming in formation, in a pattern, and then a few random dolphins – the watch dolphins, who were protecting the others as they slept. I had to swim fast to keep up with them, and then sometimes they would slow down or swim back towards me. They came close, again zero fear. The other thing I will never forget – while in their presence I went into a trance, a meditative state, and I lost my ability to think of anything – except one thought over and over again, which was  “I love you, I love you so much, thank you for letting me be here with you.” When they were done checking me out, it was so incredibly obvious – they just swam away, period. There was no way I had any chance of following them. 

And then I was truly alone, and the beach was very very far away. Fear kicked in. I swam as fast as I could, praising my college swim coach for teaching me proper swimming techniques, making it possible to haul ass back to shore. Back on land,  filled with adrenaline, love, and black sand I knew I had just experienced one of the best moments of my life.  I looked at my phone – 2 and a half hours had gone by. It was an epic moment. 

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Every summer, my then husband and I had a ritual of visiting his family in Switzerland. That year we decided to take a little side trip South for a few days when we found out that one of our favorite movies – Star Wars Attack of the Clones had been filmed at a famous villa in Lago di Como. The historic villa was open to visitors and us two Star Wars nerds were ready for some fandom adventure. 

We packed a small bag and jumped in the car to start our romantic pilgrimage to the Villa del Balbionello. We crossed the Swiss border into Italy without a hitch. The three and a half hour drive from Berne to the Lago di Como region is filled with a variety of language, architecture and vegetation.  Lago di Como is what I call eye candy – a magical lakeside setting with a countryside vibe.  

We explored several lakeside towns, practiced our Italian ordering gelato, vino, cappuccinos, Prosecco,  pasta and pizza a bizzeffe. One of our best meals was the cheapest, and an accidental find, actually a miraculous find – the only restaurant open at 8pm on a Sunday. In Italy, many restaurants are closed or close early on Sundays. That long weekend we ate and drank every meal outside in an ancient courtyard. Is it me or does everything taste better alfresco? 

Finally it was time to visit the epic Star Wars Villa – that’s what we were calling it between ourselves. The grounds were perfection – manicured gardens, majestic architecture and lakeside port of entry. I imagined what it must have been like to live in a such an exquisite place, which had started as a monastery in the 13th century. This historical site is famous for it’s intricate terrace design and this is where the famous love scene between Anakin and Padme (the parents of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa) took place. As my husband and I walked out to the famous “spot” where the scene took place, he indulged my fantasy grabbing me and kissing me where the famous lovers sealed their fate. I was giddy and filled with the magic that is Italy – it was an epic moment! 

Italy is still one of the most visited countries in the world and remains a place of romance, artistic treasures and eternal wonder. 

Padme & Anakin Moment Villa del Balbionello

Anakin & Padme – Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

Villa del Babionello, Lago di Como

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We then headed towards Cusco to the famous Sacsayhuaman area. This is a true wonder and mystery of the world. I went into a deep state of connection, absorbed all I could, especially drawn to the sacred waters and wild alpacas. Over the next four days we would hike the Inca trail that takes you to Machu Picchu. Many times along the trail I was so far from the group I was completely alone in the majestic Andes for hours, just me, the mist and the wild horses grazing down in the valley. Once at Machu Picchu  I meditated, remained silent for the entire experience, touched the Earth and simply connected with the energy there. 

Cusco and the hot springs nearby (aguas calientes) were the highlight of the trip for me. An exquisitely designed city – sparkling clean with live music, cafe’s and artists celebrating life at an altitude of over 11k feet. The cusqueño/a were just as beautiful as the mix of colonial and Incan architecture. 

Next stop was our three day Peruvian Amazon adventure, which ended with an ayahuasca ceremony guided by four shamans who cleansed our fasted bodies with tobacco smoke, chanting and drums. I didn’t have a full blown hallucination, but I did come out the other side fully cleansed and clear. I knew what I wanted ,who I wanted and what path my post collegiate life was going to take. I’m so grateful I was able to have that experience, I truly had many epic moments. Peru is a beautiful country I recommend. 

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Who are your mentors? Stick with them, ignore the rest. 

R.I.P. Olivia Newton John … you are the goat of something, I don’t know what, but you are… you popularized natural beauty and fitness – and gave the girl next door the courage to be a little naughty. One of your songs on the Physical album literally changed the course of my life … THE PROMISE – I listened to it over and over again, then I told my mom I wanted to become a marine biologist, and go to Australia to visit the wild dolphins that Olivia swam with. I didn’t become a marine biologist, but I did get all of my diving certifications, learned to sail and started a degree in underwater archaeology – which brought me to the warm waters of Hawaii. In Hawaii I got to swim with hundreds of wild dolphins on several occasions, and then in 2005 my then husband and I traveled the entire West coast of Australia – we went to Monkey Mia and I did indeed get to swim with the wild dolphins that Olivia introduced us to all those years ago. It was a bucket list item, a dream come true – the dolphins came close, one touched me several times -teasing me into dolphin love ecstasy.  It was a perfect epic moment. Who has influenced your life – a family member, celebrity, teacher? If they are still around tell them. It will bring them so much joy. 

I can’t listen to this song without tearing up. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEtwsTfBzLc

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I started to make small talk with the couple who picked me up. “Are you guys going to the photo shoot at the beach too? There is going to be a famous photographer there to do a nude photo shoot. I forgot his name, but everyone was talking about it and said I should go.” The man driving turned back to look at me for a moment, “Hi my name is Spencer, I’m the photographer who is doing the shoot today.” “What? Are you serious? That is too funny! Yay, I guess I am not going to be late then, hahah.” We made more small talk, mostly me being slightly fascinated with him and his work, and feeling grateful that I get to be immortalized in one of his pieces. 

The shoot was long and hot, and again I was fascinated and inspired at how he handled a hundred nude humans who came out that day to participate. Some of his photographs have thousands of nude people, thousands. Each one is so unique while simultaneously keeping the same message – bodies are just bodies, nudity isn’t shameful or weird or wrong, it’s just a freakin body, get over it. 

A few months later, as promised Spencer Tunick sent me a copy of the photograph that became the “chosen one” of that shoot. It was beautiful and perfect in every way. 

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Btw – the book is very challenging to read, you must learn to accept another language into your psyche, a language completely made up by the author, he explains it as the story goes, but it is a sweet unfolding, not always direct definitions. The whole story, everything about it, pushes you to THINK, examine, analyze and surrender into a story being given to you. And when you come out on the other side of this book you feel like you accomplished something, and you did – you learned what it means to be human.

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