SNOW DAY WHITE PASS ON CROSS COUNTRY SKIS

White Pass Nordic Track Area 12-31-2011

Cross Country Skiing

31 degrees and relatively sunny…Hmmm. Read curled up in the chair by the fire at Adytum or Get Out There…Fresh mountain air…Peace in Nature??? Trying a new thing? Okay…Into the car and a trip 60 minutes east to White Pass for a venture into the World of the skier, snow-shoer, and cross-country skier called the day- this New Year’s Eve day….

4500 feet at the summit. Parking so bad- okay, it WAS New Year’s Eve and good weather – we had to park a mile away. We started in Lewis County and parked in Yakima County. Interesting…Thank God for the shuttle. Non-skier that I am, I thought those were just in airport parking lots…Who would believe White Pass would be slammed? But it was New Year’s Eve…

Shuttle Master Gabe was great and got us to and from with a light heart – clearly One who likes his job and is grateful for work. I’ve never met someone so genuine; he’d drive slow and yell “Hey, do you want a ride???” to anyone walking along the slushy road. He advised us there was a blizzard last night (“My job is harder than it looks…”in code) and that a foot of new snow fell.

The fresh mountain air and peace of the Nordic (cross country/snow shoe) side of the road contrasted dramatically with the stench of fumes belching out of cars loading and unloading passengers into the Lodge side and raucous, energized crowd on the ski lift side. There was seriously a very clear division. Chicken for downhill that I am, I chose “Nordic”.

“What size shoe? Lift your arm (poles)” and $65 later for two, we were trying to figure out how to clamp in. Ah…that snow and ice blocking the entry is the problem…minutes later I was remembering my humiliating experience going arse first down the slopes on my first ‘bunny hill’- and this was only cross country…how do skis equate with childbirth? Well, they do…

Have you done it? It’s a little harder than it looks. Those darn skis are so long they want to cross and when they do, you just want to do a face plant so tremendously bad it’s hard to resist. I wanted that “Nordic Track/Elliptical Trainer” feel…I can DO that but it escaped me... My fingers froze first and then I was telling myself, “It’s like riding a horse bareback…just relax. The more you relax the easier it is…”  Breathe! But horses don’t elicit the desire to toss you – yes – face first like these *#*# skis do….

It took me about 20-30 minutes (NO I didn’t time it. I was too busy trying to stay upright!) to ‘get it’. Then it was fun! I can skate. I thought, “This should be easy…I’m athletic…But part of me thought, “Could I NOT have at least watched a YouTube tutorial???” Ok. There’s a learning curve and particularly when faced with a hill. The hill – intimidating at first – DID actually become welcomed when sweat was running freely under 4 (yes 4, I’m from California…) layers. In fact, it was fun! (Until The Big One…)

The feeling of being in the groove finally emerged under all the stress of TRYING (to slow down…) my forearms are sore for heaven’s sake…who ever heard of that?)

But there were moments when I could see the beauty in this. The peace of gliding (exaggerating…of course) through the stillness of the snow-laden trees. It was spectacular. The essence of the Christmas that just passed. Where are the deer? Still the reason there are more pictures of me than Donn is because of that little nagging issue…balance with gigantic pieces of wood strapped to your feet. Penguin? Clown? A cross between the two?....you get the point.

Where are, by the way, the “Runaway Truck Ramp- 1 mile ahead” signs? We have experienced cross country skiers all around- although at points we were blissfully alone…Is there not a little bit of pressure when someone appears behind (slow) us? I am silently thinking, “You have no idea what you’re in for…” as they try to pass me….I hope you’re good – I mean anything could happen! If you saw that sign, you’d know…

 Okay….at minimum this is a great workout. As I said, my forearms are sore (digging those poles into the snow to slow myself down from my toboggan race to the bottom of the hill…) and I’m thinking- more times than one “this is going to get me into that bikini in three weeks when we go to Hawaii.” 

The more I stretched out into the long stride, stretching my hip flexors, the more my glutes said, “Oh Yeah Baby…” and the more I thought, “This sure beats reading a book by the fire on a fair weather day!”.

Do I admire the gutsy downhillers? You bet. And when I queried Donn which was the best exercise, he said they both have their merits. But for us, who are more “Muir” people than adventurers, cross country skiing just ‘works’ and it’s a lot cheaper. $13 each for a day pass/$165 for the season. Gee…how much was that gym and was I breathing in pristine air, hearing the little birds and watching the Ravens above and listening to my own heart/thoughts/soul while I got a pretty darn good workout?

Actually, I admired even more the dad I saw hook a baby in a jogging cart to himself and head off, wife watchfully pulling up the rear. I imagined this young lad saying to his buddies, “Hey, what’d you do today? The playpen? That’s it? I was out cross country skiing with my parents today. Playpen? Seriously? That’s just lame, dude…”

Back at the Yurt after the loop around the Lake, it was full of happy people having lunch and chatting in the small space. We knew the staff and they were so friendly. Cathy Lillianthal is a Massage Therapist and will serve guests at Adytum when not filling in for the season at White Pass. We are so Taos-like here in the Pacific Northwest…everyone does a bit of something in order to live in all this outrageous beauty

.

On the drive back, over 150 elk in four different herds…those white fannies just begging to be a target. Yes, I’m a vegetarian but do you NOT see a target? We explored the last town before White Pass: Packwood with lots of flavor and some interesting shops. We picked up an antique trunk at an antique shop for $40 that clearly had a $100 price tag on it. I’d just bought about the same thing in Olympia for $100. Believe me, there are bargains to be found here…

We learned something I wonder if you know: The rounded top trunks were obviously loaded last. They belonged to the ‘Blue Bloods”, these privileged passengers were the “First Class” in their day. ”Last on and first off”. So the flat topped trunked passengers loaded and waited and waited and waited…yes, we’ve all been there. THEN the people that don’t waste their time waiting get on with their rolled top trunks are loaded on top of the flat trunks below. The ‘designer’ roll top….

Cindy, who runs the last gift shop before the mountain helped Donn load a rounded top one in the car…inside she shared that ONLY on these rounded trunks is a curious orange/blue border and always the exact same.

The pictures in the middle might change but that border is consistent…Interesting bit of trivia coming from Cindy who has called Packwood her home for 36 years…Quite far from the freeway in Packwood. We, at Adytum, are 20 minutes from I-5 and choices to visit Seattle, Olympia and Portland. Packwood is about far as it gets to the Mountain. (i.e., the end of the earth) and I so admire the rugged souls that commit to living in the reach of the mountains as a Way of Life and the wisdom they teach us.

Okay, enough sharing. I’m heading for Adytum’s Salt Water Hot Tub to ease those over extended hip flexors and enjoy a glass of red wine under the Milky Way. Last year, we were listening to Beethoven’s 9^th in Seattle on New Year’s Eve and we actually left our guests behind so we could indulge. This year was equally monumental here at Adytum and we enjoyed Jupiter lighting up the sky as the single star visible on our drive home.

The New Year bodes well: loving life and exploring more in our own backyard, full of gratitude to our  God that gave us so much pleasurable possibilities on this Earth…enjoying each of  YOU and reveling in seeing YOUR zest for life. It all spurs us on. Yes it does.

Adytum Gives Back ~ You Stay for 50% Off

Adytum’s Charity of Choice: The National Health Federation (www.thenhf.com) The ONLY Health-Freedom Organization TO ACTUALLY BE “YOUR VOICE FOR HEALTH FREEDOM”

Join NHF for $36 and get 1 Night at Adytum Sanctuary@ 50% off, Any Suite!

With your $100+  NHF Donation, get 2 Nights at Adytum Sanctuary at 50% off, Any Suite!

With your $1000 gift: Your 2 -night stay is on Adytum! This is the best deal of the year…good until the end of May. LIMITED TO THE FIRST 50 TO BOOK SO HURRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We took 100 bookings in 48 hours last March. Do not wait  ~ book today at www.adytumsanctuary.com.

Adytum has chosen the National Health Federation as our charitable giving FOCUS because of our mutual commitment to keeping our body/mind/spirit ‘temple’ with integrity through right choices and honoring the body/vessel and in so doing, maximizing our power and work on behalf of others in this World.

Abundant, vibrant health starts with choice but ultimately it ends in fighting to retain our freedom to choose….Kat Carroll, NTP

The Star of the North: 1250 Sq. Ft. of Pure Luxury

In this spirit, each one of you who becomes a member of the NHF (www.thenhf.com)– just $36, will enjoy one magical night at Adytum for 50% off in any suite of your choosing. Those that give $100 or more, indulge for two enchanted nights at 50% off each night  in the Castello Adytum in complete, pampered luxury (think “Champagne on Ice…”.) That is just over $100 a night for a $220 a night luxury Suite with territorial water views by day and a front row seat to the Milky Way by night in the seductive warmth of the Salt Water Hot Tub.  For the outrageously logical $1000 donation your romantic adventure at Adytum is on us! This offer will go throughout the end of May and excludes all major holidays. With your membership you will also receive a quarterly magazine, Health Freedom News, the same one that ignited my internal activist and the one I now write for…with a sophisticated readership of over 20,000 like-minded people it will expand you like no other. This is worth the membership price ALONE if you value current research, issues and perpetual growth in your life…
 “I am always learning…” Michelangelo

50" Plasma, Gas Fireplace, Lake View from French Doors: The Orion Suite

Gifts to NHF are not tax deductible because you get the famous Health Freedom News; if you need a tax deduction, then donate to Foundation for Health Research, our sister organization.

As a volunteer, I want very much to speak out against the issue you will learn about below –Ractopamine- the VET Steroid on your dinner plate – at the Codex meeting in Rome this July.  I will also be attending the Codex meeting in Ottawa, Canada in May where GMO labeling is being decided. Do you know that your United States Delegate (FDA employee...) said, “The American people are too stupid to make up their mind about this issue.”  Incredible...Have we been underestimated?

Thank you for making it possible for me to go and represent YOU and YOUR family by your loving and generous gift! If you want to read about my ‘Inner Activist Awakening’ read on. If not, book NOW at www.adytumsanctuary.com and let’s get on with our mutual Adventures!

Pinot Noir Vineyard at Adytum

As some of  you know, my “inner activist” was released this August when I read an article in Health Freedom News, the National Health Federation’s fine magazine. The article was by President & General Counsel, Scott C. Tips on something I couldn’t even pronounce and never heard of: Ractopamine. It turns out; no one I asked had heard of it either yet our U.S. Delegate to the Codex meetings, where global standards are set said that the U.S. was in FAVOR of it. So why is this kept under such wraps that even some of the smartest among us do not generally know about? Who stands to lose major world trade profits Ractopamine fails to pass again at Codex this July in Rome, Italy?

Ractopamine is a veterinary steroid drug, created by Eli Lilly’s vet arm: the Evil Elanco.  Ractopamine makes turkey, pigs and cattle shift nutrients from fat production over to lean mass production. At first glance, it sounds okay and my uncle  who was a pig farmer, would have loved the $2-3 per pig net gain in profit, but the reality is that it not only makes the animals ill to the point of death (farmers called reporting that animals were "down and shaking") but we end up eating this poison. Since they are bypassing the standard 14-28 day clearance time before slaughtering a medicated animal a shocking 20% of this veterinary steroid taints the meat and YOU and YOUR FAMILY  will eat it! Shocked? Yes, me too. Do you realize the cumulative effect of multiple meat meals a day with vet meds in it??? Next time you pass the meat aisle, just think about what’s lurking in there….it can send you to the hospital thinking you’re having a heart attack or a panic attack at best. Are you ready for dinner?

The Healthy Kitchen at Adytum Sanctuary- No Ractopamine Served Here

You know, I’m a vegetarian but I have children and grandchildren and elderly parents who regularly eat all three - sometimes in a single day!  It is just wrong to put profit over people…Remember that this is the same drug company that brought DES and Bovine Growth Hormone to market and both were passed- then banned AFTER the problems surfaced…

Side effects of humans consuming this vet drug (which is clearly labeled “Not for human use”) is increased heart rate and vessel constriction as well as being a carcinogen….Want to come to dinner? A little panic attack and/or heart attack for dessert and a whopping BIG medical bill even IF you have insurance…. We’re having some doped meat…Oh, and bring your health insurance card- if you have one. We may be going for a little ride- a fast one in the ambulance.

Can You Imagine Giving Her Veterinary Medicine A Few Meals A Day?

When I called Donn’s brother, Dr. Ron Carroll, and asked what would happen if I brought my 86 year old father or 2 year old granddaughter in for emergency treatment having a reaction to ‘dinner’, he said they would never even know what they were treating because “we don’t even have veterinary medicines in our drug toxicity screens.”  He would administer Beta Blockers to slow the heart, run an EKG and blood tests to determine if a heart attack was happening, order the drug-screen and basically create “a very large ER bill trying to figure out what was wrong.” And send you home with more medicine in your system than you came in with. In the final analysis, it will become a socioeconomic issue. When word gets out, won’t YOU buy organic meat? Low-income people will consume this and the already over-burdened medical system of the United States will collapse under symptom managing because our US delegate thought we were willing sacrifices to Eli Lilly’s greed.

160 countries around the World, including China which spent a lot of money researching the problems associated with Ractopamine, banned import and export of the tainted meat. When President and General Counsel, Scott C. Tips spoke against Ractopamine passing as a global standard in Geneva last year, he was able to persuade a few other countries against adopting the US stance. So even though our FDA employed US delegate was willing and eager to get it passed - selling out our health for US profit, President Scott C. Tips, working through the National Health Federation funding that got him there to represent us, worked for me, for my father, for my granddaughter Kendyl and my whole family and YOU while many of us were quietly unaware there was even a problem being debated of this magnitude. I don’t even take aspirin…I’ll be damned if I let our government feed us VETERINARY STEROIDS on our dinner plates every day. If this doesn’t move you, I don’t know what will….

Complacency leads to annihilation – of your health and of your freedom. Kat Carroll, NTP

I will be forever grateful to the work that health freedom fighters have done for me and my family, and continue to do. Am I ashamed for being “asleep” for most of this vital work? Yes…But no more.  Donn and I have a corporate membership for our two businesses, and then I came on board as a volunteer for NHF in October. It’s my passion.

Ractopamine  is just one of many issues up for decisions at Codex this year for the whole World, and the general purposes of NHF dovetail so perfectly with our commitment at Adytum to healthy food and freedom of choice for health care and what we choose to put into our bodies.

Ractopamine reminds me of rape. It is, at best, a forced entry upon innocent victims, both animal and human....

Can you explain it any other way? Or do you want to line up for a spoonful of designer drugs made for turkeys, cows and pigs and agree that you need it for your own personal health and wellness plan?  Thought you were smarter than that…

I became NHF Membership Director most recently and in that role, I’m asking you to help me to get to Rome, Italy this July 2012 where the Ractopamine issue comes up again for debate. Believe me; I will be speaking against it loud and clear along with President and General Counsel, Scott C. Tips and other delegates from the National Health Federation.

The reason I chose to work with NHF is that they are the ONLY health freedom federation that can speak at Codex, where these standards for the World are set. They can also submit papers and correct the ‘inadvertent omissions’ Codex is famous for committing.

NHF has a Voice,  YOUR VOICE, therefore they have real power to speak for YOU!

They are also the most experienced health-freedom organization, having been around since before I was born- 1955- and I might add, before any of the other health-freedom organizations were born too…NHF has a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. as well and always has. NHF is working for us every day!  I like the fact they run a very lean organizational structure. Most of us are volunteers and donations go right to the front-lines of the battle. You don’t see me out of my 1998 Toyota Pickup because of this new job…

I’ve met enough of the directors and key players and they aren’t in a hot new car either. In fact, what I see is a lot of dedicated, passionate, intelligent professionals who are mad as hell and they aren’t going to take it any more…and neither should YOU. It’s your family we’re talking about. It’s your children, your grandchildren and the legacy you will leave. This is serious, my friends…

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These are important issues- and just a few among many others discussed there during the week of solid meetings. One of our guests actually thanked me for being willing to go attend these meetings on behalf of her and her family. That gave me reason to pause... Another guest took home the magazine and immediately joined at the corporate level of $200. She wrote a scathing editorial on the Ractopamine issue- it really speaks to mothers in particular.  We are in charge of feeding our family good healthy food for heaven’s sake…The thought of cumulatively poisoning our families with a drug never intended to enter humans…all for the sake of American greed- well, it got me mad enough to finally wake up and it did the same for her!

I humbly ask you for your support of the NHF (www.thenhf.com) and you will, in exchange, enjoy Adytum at the lowest rate you ever will and you will incur our eternal gratitude for seeing the big picture and being willing to step into the fray. God bless you for it…

Smart Water~

In my volunteer work with the National Health Federation, one of my greatest pleasures is helping with the magazine, Health Freedom News. Between spending an hour in the Far Infrared Sauna most days and half an hour on the exercise bike, I'm getting a huge amount of reading in. So in the spirit of sharing, I wanted to include my Adytum guests with my book review that will appear in the winter issue of Health Freedom News. I am a firm believer in using structured, alkaline water to optimize health. Along with asking you - as Membership Director - to consider joining our global efforts at www.thenhf.com, I wanted to make the best ionized water unit on the market available to you at a special discount. If you're interested, give me a call or email and I'll fill you in. Enjoy the brief synopsis on Healing Waters, and as I continue to read, between guests - I will most certainly share it with you. The next book is on Vitamin D to enhance athletic performance by one of the foremost Vitamin D researchers in the country, John Cannell. When Bill Sardi visited in August he left this book for Donn and me. I wish I'd have picked it up sooner! It is fantastic as was the ionized, alkaline water book.

BOOK REVIEW

By Katherine A. Carroll, NTP

Healing Waters: The Powerful Health Benefits of Ionized Water By Ben Johnson, M.D., D.O., N.M.D. (ISBN 978-0-7570-0328-8; Square One Publishers, 2011; www.squareonepublishers.com; paperback, 124 pages; $15.95)

 “All water is not created equal and it is the structure of water within our bodies that ultimately determines health or sickness.” Dr. Mushik Jhon, Korean scientist and expert on ionized water.

               Healing Waters is an inspiring book on strategies to achieve optimum health using alkaline, ionized water. Packed with scientific studies from around the World, it claims that ionized, alkaline water will restore the basic foundations of health.  Many of us have read Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj’s book on the healing power of water for common ailments, diseases, obesity – even cancer was influenced. Batmanghelidj researched while in an Iranian prison on political prisoner charges, overstaying his sentence because his research was so compelling.

               Dr. Johnson shows how simple chronic dehydration combined with acidosis, having a system that is acidic versus alkaline, is the source of numerous health problems. Dr. Kancho Kinanaka, pioneer in ionized water treatment asserts, “People with high blood pressure also suffer from acidosis “virtually without exception.”

               We are approximately 65% water in composition. Many of our bodily processes are pH dependent so it proves a wise strategy to meet these basic needs for proper hydration and a proper acid-alkaline pH balance.

               Structurally alkalinized, ionized water is the same as the water from mineral-rich glaciers; the same water reputed to keep the Hunzas free of disease and extending longevity. It is known as “living water” because it is compatible with our bodily fluids. Its smaller cluster size and hexagonal structure enable it to travel quickly through our bodies to reach cells and tissues for rapid assimilation. It not only hydrates, but it alkalizes and oxygenates the body fostering optimum health.

               In addition to water, oxygenation is a crucial foundation of health. Since cancer- and disease-causing microorganisms thrive in low-oxygen, acidic environments, focusing upon the body’s two most abundant substances- water and oxygen, is indeed intelligent strategizing to create true health. The beauty of this living water is that it can be made at home with a specific ionizing unit for which Dr. Johnson provides numerous resource references.

               Combined with a healthy, alkaline-based diet, we have a strong framework to create vibrant health and increase energy. The author delves briefly into proper food combining, thus reducing the fermentation that adds to the body’s acidic load.

               A fascinating aspect of this book reveals that ionized, alkaline water has an oxidation reduction potential, also known as redox potential or ORP, which is better than many common antioxidants. First he compares it with tap water that is oxidizing with an ORP reading of +400mV to +500mV and mineral water which is slightly better with a +200mV reading, yet is also oxidizing. However, alkaline, ionized water reads -250mV to -350mV so it’s plentiful in the extra electrons it needs to donate to stop free radical activity. Understanding living water’s ORP readings creates an exciting strategic approach to elevate immune function. Alkaline, ionized water has better antioxidant capacity than Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and beta-carotene, which are nearly nine times heavier than alkaline ionized water.

               By keeping the body more alkaline, the blood pH supports increased oxygenation and even prevents Alzheimer’s disease by insuring that the brain’s required need for 20% of the body’s daily supply of oxygen is met. The heart requires more than all other muscles, so heart disease is prevented too.

               The acid water that is dispensed out of the water-ionizing unit mentioned in the book has had its use in homes as well as hospitals for disinfecting and killing bacteria associated with ten of the most-common hospital infections – even MRSA. “Most of these infectious agents were completely deactivated within 30 seconds of being inoculated with the (acid) water; the others were killed in 5 minutes.” This was from a 2004 Russian study.

Acid water maintains beautiful skin and hair, is anti-aging, and combats eczema, psoriasis, shingles and other skin problems. It improves the body’s ability to grow healthy skin in diabetics with ulcers, heals bedsores and aids in wound healing. Additionally, it is antibacterial for teeth and gums.

Even houseplants love it and it’s great to clean fresh produce and rinse sprouts with.

By coalescing foundational tactics using alkaline, ionized water combined with a balanced diet and proper food combining, Dr. Johnson writes a compelling case for investing in health through the inclusion of living water in our daily life.

Christmas at Adytum

Bringing in the Tree

It seems like we just reluctantly put Adytum’s signature orange umbrellas and chair cushions away and here it is – Christmas already…We have guests all throughout the month of December and the transformation into the magical fantasy of Christmas in the little castle Adytum has begun with the bringing in of the tree, tiny white lights going up everywhere and fresh cedar draped over every chandelier and level surface.

Fresh From the Field and Heavy!!

This year, we opted for a 6’ Noble instead of the behemoth trees of the last two years that we could barely drag in much less get in the special tree stand and upright. It truly takes a small team to accomplish that! So this year the fragrance is spilling down from the third floor library and the lights from the tree are visible as you drive up to the front door.

My daughter, Alyssa, was here to help install the garland around the library rails and get Fragment 2 into a Christmas wrap of her own set atop of web of golden ephemeral fabric. Alyssa was between a month long kite boarding adventure in Brazil and heading to Germany and Denmark for another week before settling into a new position at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. We have a tradition at Adytum of making sweet and savory nuts for the holidays that are always a huge hit. When Alyssa asked for recipes for her friends in Germany who loved them, I decided to share them with you too.

They come from a book called, Party Nuts: 50 recipes for spicy, sweet, savory, and simply sensational nuts that will be the hit of any gathering. By Sally Sampson    Listen to some of the recipe names: Cinnamon Sugar and Orange Macadamia Nuts, Honey-Cardamom Almonds, Curried Coriander Spiced Pistachios…and one of my favorites: Slow-Roasted Southern Buttered Pecans which is quite simply exactly as it sounds.

She named this book accurately and she’s right. We appreciate being able to make healthy foods even during ‘party times’ and while these may deviate a slight bit from our usual ‘no sugar’ policy at Adytum, they don’t deviate far. As one of my mentors, Dr. Richard Shulze says, “It’s party food. Just don’t make it everyday food.” These nuts make perfect hostess gifts and also great gifts for those that have everything already. We like the idea of disposable gifts and these nuts will truly disappear fast.  We pack them into cellophane bags with festive ribbons to tie them closed or fill holiday tins. 

Don’t forget your UPS man, the teller at the bank that knows your name and the neighbor at the far end of the block that you don’t see often enough! Christmas is a chance to let those in your life know that you appreciate them and don’t take them for granted. While nut prices have risen, these are still an economical approach and a very loving approach in a season of undue focus on commercialism. We wish each of you a very Merry Christmas full of an abundance of love, joy, great health and peace! May you truly reconnect with all that really matters in life....

Jennifer Ligeti’s Classic Sugared Holiday Nuts

2 large egg whites (1/4 cup)

1 cup sugar

½ tsp sea salt

4 cups lightly toasted pecan halves (10-12 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees F)

1.      Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.      Place the egg whites in a large stainless steel bowl and whisk until frothy. Slowly whisk in the sugar and salt until thick. Fold in the pecans and toss until well coated.

3.      Transfer the pecans to the prepared sheet and arrange in a single layer. Place in the oven and bake, stirring gently every 15 minutes, until the meringue covers the nuts with a chewy, pale golden brown coating, 35-40 minutes.

4.      Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes, then removed the nuts from the pan with a metal spatula and set aside to cool before serving.

5.      If you’re sipping, pair with mulled wine for adults and hot cider for kids

Lauren’s Vanilla Walnuts

4 cups raw walnut halves

2 T unsalted butter, melted

6 T sugar

1 T vanilla extract

1 T vanilla powder

1 Tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1.      Preheat the oven to 300 degree F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.      Place the walnuts and melted butter in a large bowl and toss until the nuts are well coated. Sprinkle the sugar and vanilla extract over the nuts and toss again until evenly coated.

3.      Transfer the walnuts to the prepared sheet and arrange in a a single layer. Set aside for 10 minutes.

4.      Place the vanilla powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a small bowl,, mix well, and set aside.

5.      Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the nuts are lightly browned, stirring a few times, about 30 minutes.

6.      Remove from the oven and immediately loosen the nuts with a metal spatula. While hot, sprinkle the nuts with the spice mix and stir well but gently. Set aside to cool before serving.

7.      If you're sipping, Lauren likes these best with ginger ale, no ice.

Autumn at Adytum

Autumn at Adytum

Warming Indian spices from dal and coconut rice traveling up the spiral staircase to the Star of the North Suite at Adytum, the first storm of the season and fresh snow on the road to Paradise, the Japanese maples in our gardens in brilliant fire and losing leaves fast now with each gust of wind that scatters the intricate tapestry of color on to the forest floor…this is my favorite time of year~ Autumn at Adytum.

We went to see more Japanese Maples at the Portland Japanese Garden last week, taking a lot of pictures to share. 

This particular garden has been proclaimed as the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan.

 Situated on 5 acres, they welcome 220,000 visitors a year. You can read more at www.japanesegarden.com.  

We go every autumn and agree that it is a stunning representation of an authentic Japanese garden with bonsai, maples of every kind imaginable, lovely structural elements and statuary.

The peacefulness is enhanced by ancient fir trees and many waterfalls and streams. 

All this beauty is only an hour and a half from Adytum, and is near some of our favorite restaurants to visit after an afternoon’s walk; PF Chang, Monsoon or was it Typhoon? Or both? Pizzacato,with gluten free crust and the City Grill with its territorial views from the 30^th floor and the most amazing Happy Hour in Portland. And of course, Plainfields which is one of the top 22 Indian restaurants in the US. Coupled with the fun catalog shops that are all along 23^rd Place, which is quite near the Japanese Gardens, there is plenty to do and see.

Pink Skyscraper in the Background is City Grill....Great Happy Hour & Views

On the drive back to Adytum you can pick up your own Japanese Maples from a vast selection at Tsugawa Nursery - www.tsugawanursery.com. Most of the 30 Japanese Maples at Adytum have come from this fun nursery and now each is attached to a memory of a date in Portland. Enjoying the museums or gardens, relishing a nice meal and some shopping and stopping back by the nursery on the way back to create a romantic evening at Adytum makes a perfect date.

Once the leaves shed at the Japanese Garden, explore the other museums in the same area as the Portland Zoo- we like the gift shop in the Forestry Museum especially for gifts for children to teach them conservation and to love animals and nature. In the summer, the Portland Rose Garden is spectacular and we actually saw a lot of climbing roses opposite the Japanese Garden, climbing up a chain link fence in full bloom…in November. Portland is a little warmer and the season is extended and spring begins sooner there too.

So many who visit Adytum head to Mt. Rainier, White Pass or Mt. St. Helens, but when the weather turns, or if you’re not a skier,  it’s fun to discover a new city. Portland’s vibe is laid back and it has a distinctive Pacific Northwest flavor. We love the architecture of the old homes there and the abundance of tall trees lining the streets. We’ve enjoyed a lot of great cultural events like concerts and plays there as well. So if you’re up for a day trip while staying at Adytum, put Portland on your list of potential options and we know you won’t be disappointed.

Narada Falls Near Mt. Rainier

Late Sunday afternoon, around 3 o'clock at Adytum, which was enveloped in heavy cloud cover, we decided to leave for Mt. Rainier, hike Narada Falls and end up at at one of our favorite places, Alexander's Country Inn.

Normally we'd have left hours ago. There was little hope of actually hiking Paradise before nightfall but there are plenty of other hikes along the way and all involving waterfalls. Suddenly, ten miles east in Morton the sun broke through and afforded a whole other experience.

Right before the Park entrance, we stopped into a gift shop because there was chainsaw art out front. Adytum has its share of ancient maple stumps, many 150 years old, and Donn has decided to turn them into spirit wood art instead of cutting them out of the ground. Spirit Wood is something we are all familiar with...the face peering out of the wood. We like Mirth and Green Man in particular because they appear on so many of the European Cathedrals and even on our own Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC.  We collect these carvings from master stonecarver Walter Arnold who carved on the cathedral alongside Frederick Hart, famous for the Ex Nihilo sculpture at the entrance to the Cathedral and for the 3 Soldiers sculpture near the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

We bought three small Spirit Wood carvings for the Adytum Autumn table, to blend with some owls already on hand. Then we drove on past Comet Falls, which is a great short hike, to Narada Falls, the crowning jewel of the mountain highway. It was 46 degrees with wind chill...I'm not sure I'm ready for winter...We saw the friendly Clark's Nutcrackers that are more than happy to accept peanuts and crackers from your hand. Someone had dumped a bag of peanuts out for them and they were flying in over the waterfall to eat before sundown.

Walking down to the Narada Falls lookout point was slick and wet. The fine spray met us every step of the way and despite the dry summer, the torrent of water cascading over the lip of Narada Falls is an impressive force of nature...absolutely glorious. In the slideshow you can see that opposite this formidable release of crystal clear water are a series of natural stone steps that meet the falls at the bottom of the drop.

As in the case of almost all photography, you simply have to be there to capture the nuances, the essences of this exquisite display of power and might. Many had carved their names and initials on the wooden rail at the lowest lookout point where the might of the Falls diminishes somewhat into a more containable stream winding through the valley below. The carved words seemed a desire to remain, timeless and eternal, like these Falls; to merge with the mastery of life and be carried along in their glory...

We exchanged photo taking with one other couple on the trail and headed back up. There were only half a dozen cars in the parking lot and many children scrambling dangerously close to the retaining wall which looks like a castle from the viewpoint below. The walk is magical and transported me. Nature has always fed the deep, inner recesses of my spirit which becomes parched in a city environment quickly. Our Creator has made space for combining with the eternal and the art-walks we enjoy in the Pacific Northwest have no equal in any city museum...

Cold enough now to require some warming up, we head to Alexander's Country Inn; the charming blue Inn with a Victorian turret and large, wooden water wheel churning. Deer are almost always in the yard eating windfall apples, but we didn't see them today. Alexander's keeps trout in a large pond behind the Inn, but this evening I ordered a salmon burger sans the bread for $10 and Donn ordered an excellent 4-cheese ravioli in a butter sauce with a variety of mushrooms and red bell pepper. At $16 he was quite happy all the way around.  His salad had a unique maple vinaigrette that was wonderful. We  had a warming meal despite a bit of a chilly reception from the wait staff which is unusual for that establishment...

We bought a season's pass for $30 and will return to enjoy the last of the huckleberries and the blaze of their foliage before winter sets in. The hills pour with liquid amber and the passion colors of Fall as Vine Maples celebrate in unison their finest hour. I love this time of year. It's my favorite and the briskness is so welcome after the heat of summer.

This day has taught me not to accept the limits and boundaries we impose on our expectations and ideas of things. We've never started a hike, with an hour's drive to our destination, so late. And we certainly will again in the future. It capped the busy guest-filled weekend at Adytum with restorative joy and peace. It grounded me once again in the deep Reality of nature and our oneness with all living things. My well is replenished and my week will reflect this short but intense investment in my spirit/body/mind complex.

The Grove of the Patriarchs

Saturday afternoon is the perfect time to make a short 55 minute drive east from Adytum to enjoy a relaxed walk through a literal art museum of Nature and 1000 year old Fir and Cedar. Don’t let that number slip by you… Reflect on all the history these trees have absorbed.  I have 51 years. They have 949 more warm summers and winters of frigid snow, ice and winds endured…pause and take note.

Boardwalk and nicely groomed trails mark the way through a forest that has withstood the test of time. The first impression, at least on a day without the usual Pacific Northwest cloud cover, is the enchanting glint of splendid sunlight piercing the canopy 200 feet above accenting the old growth trees. The first shaft of sunlight I witnessed fell on shards of Western Red Cedar snags in the early afternoon light. The quality of light is the envy of any painter of note. It stops you in your tracks. At once it suggests enchantment and mystery. I knew I was in a different kind of wood. It was a hallowed Hall of the Ancients and they exert their presence from the beginning of the trail beckoning me onward.

We walk on sand before the boardwalk begins.  Because the Ohanapecosh River floods it deposits rich soil onto the forest floor nourishing some of the largest trillium I’ve ever seen, piggyback plants, elderberry and salmonberry and many varieties of ferns including my favorite: the Maidenhair Fern with its arching black fronds. The forest floor is littered at this time of year- October – with dry fir needles and freshly fallen leaves. The earthy, spicy smell is enveloped in a chill and rises up with each step further toward the Throne Room where the majority of the Ancients hold Court.

The second impression that literally takes my breath away is the purity of the water quality of the river along the trail. Crystal clear somehow isn’t an adequate description. The water flows from a non-active glacier and is pristine in the extreme. Each rock is clearly visible; its colors undulating under the movement of the current. I imagine that summers could be spent here on the banks of this river. Waterproof shoes would allow crossing of the shallow waters and even children could play off its banks with abandon. As I watch a Water Ouzel dive in to find a little insect and bob downstream with the flow.

As we crossed the Suspension Bridge with little Dash terrified of being tossed overboard with the rocking, I thought that this was the stuff calendars are made of; the quintessential calendar shot. Since I had polarized Maui Jim sunglasses on, I could look right through the top glare to the bottom where the rocks rested on the same sand I walked on earlier.

The trail is pure pleasure. The incline is achieved in a gentle fashion and there is so much visual stimulation we are oblivious to any exertion. Once the Great Hall is reached where the concentration of Ancients is evident, the real art show begins. Quite simply, it is an eye to eye study of wood grain in the fallen Elders.

Whorls, knots and water-like swirling patterns adorn the lovely old wood. How I would love to have a table made of these patterns…their lives are lived out as concentric circles, as rises and falls, as knots and depressions. 

No artist could achieve a more compelling work. The patterns of the old bark on the soaring Fir are equally riveting; to say they wore their age well would be an understatement. It is a cloak of pure glory they wrap themselves in before strutting to the clouds in their antiquity. If we leave behind such grace, originality and sheer magnificence we will count it our great legacy. Remember, they are but Trees planted some 1000 years past. We hold choice in our hearts.

The interesting portion that transfixes my eyes are the old limbs that hang like hoary appendages from antediluvian times from the trunks. Covered in moss and lichen, they seem to be living driftwood – dead but not dead. Sometimes they intertwine with vine maple in an age old dance of stability and lightness. Mostly they stand as a testament to age and an endurance most of us are unlikely to ever match. Each Ancient Tree  soars like a cathedral spire into heaven itself. The sun that chances to fall onto the forest floor through the denseness of this age-old canopy is fortunate indeed. When it achieves that end, the shafts are guaranteed to cause us to stand and admire the highlight. This minute, the shard of Cedar was in the limelight. In the next quarter hour, a pair of towering Fir allowed the sun entrance in the space between them like pillars containing pure energy.

We will be directing guests of Adytum to this amazing experience. To enter the company of the Ancients, to gain strength from their endurance and joy from the beauty of their artful expression is something few will ever forget. Their impression remains imprinted on the wild places of the heart that has the eyes to see.

Heading East on Highway 12 through Packwood, we turned left at the Stevens Pass turn off (which is also the Sunrise Entrance to Mt. Rainier- the right hand route would take you to White Pass) and then another left at Stevens Canyon.