Rose Cottage

Learning Tsalagi continues to be an awesome journey. We're over halfway through summer classes with Ed Fields, and our in-person weekend with Woy' ale Ahid' was great!  A couple of the gals and I formed a study group, and have met virtually several times.  In the go-ge-yi (spring), I made Syllabary flash cards for the 85 characters. This writing system was crafted by Sequoyah, with a character for each syllable plus the 6 vowels and s (which indicates the sound 'ss' - or a question when at the end of a word:  tsa-du-li /  you want it / tsa-du-lis / do  you want it?)   Tsalagi values Following a recent group call, I reorganized the cards into sets following the order used in the ' Let's Learn Cherokee Syllabary ' chapters. This little book was written by a speaker who learned to read and write Japanese, using a similar book to learn the kanji. Though Marc could speak Tsalagi, he couldn't read or write ( i-go-li-yes-gv ale go-we-lo-di)  the language,

 In this recent video , Sachiaki Takamiya talks about different ways we can protect our gut health, which in turn enhances our general health.  Picked garlic, cilantro, Miso, Kim chi, tofu Many of these concepts are familiar and  ones I already incorporate into my life.  Living on the West Coast, I have enjoyed rice, Miso and yes, tofu for decades.  Moderate movement - ideal if it's both enjoyable and not overly strenuous.  Last year i discovered the Japanese morning exercises in comments on another health thread.   Doing movement that exercises arms and legs for 6-10 minutes early in the day 'turns on' our lymph flow - increasing the benefits of movement throughout the day! I also enjoy Qigong, Breema, gardening, walking and dance, and encourage other folks to find movement they enjoy! Sleep and stress - as Sachiaki mentions, getting adequate sleep is so helpful for general health. And keep manageable stress at a minimum - slow down! One tip from several years ago - go

 Fermented foods come in many forms, and can offer great support for gut health.  Asian countries often have processes of fermenting beans - in Japan, one of these is Natto. I was intrigued to discover rather than purchasing inoculant, you can use a handful of mint stalks! (The first Natto was likely made using rice stalks.) Natto with avocado and fresh herbs On his ikigai diet youtube channel, health enthsiast Sachiaki Takamiya offers videos with  tips and recipes for making this superfood at home, plus info on healthy lifestyle. Protein levels in fermented beans are often double that in the same beans when simple cooked.  I enjoyed this video , highlighting 4 generations of a family (4-88) evoking good health and daily natto, plus the process and health benefits.  In the Shiga prefecture, it is common for elders to eat soybean natto several times a week, along with seaweed, vegetables and other whole and fermented food. As in the Blue Zone Okinawa, many continue to be active, and li

Osiyo - hello For over 3 decades, I've been interested in learning Cherokee, and have gathered resources when I could.  I picked up books, including a little Cherokee Syllabary dictionary, and practiced the writing. My dad's mom Minnie had Cherokee heritage, and the language has similarity to the Gaelic other ancesters spoke. Syllabary + Ed's ale Mary's book This spring I signed up for live  online dideloquasdi (school/ learning) via the Tsalagi (Cherokee) Nation - which funds language classes throughout the year - at no charge to the students! Taught by first language speaker Ed Fields, with assistance from Meli (Mary Rae) who began taking Ed's classes nearly a decade ago, these classes offer a wonderful glimpse into the world view and culture! (Here's Meli and Ed's site  which includes little word puzzels) This post by another of Ed's students provides a nice overview of the classes, which still use the format Jamie describes. The online classes a

 This week for Earth day, our Climate Action Group hosted several events:  Saturday a fair worth talks on reducing use of plastics and recipes/ tips.  On Monday, we joined the worldwide prayers for the earth, and showed the new film Common Ground, which highlights the importance of returning to sustainable agricultural practices. Rojo Chiquito beans in filtered water  This morning, I'm soaking Rojo Chiquito beans  (du ya • gi ga ge i) - I usually soak beans 4+ hours, then rinse, drain and pre-sprout by repeating the rinse / drain sequence several times over 8-24 hours.  I'll simmer frozen veggie trimmings for stock, and add a splash of vinegar, kombu (seaweed) a bay leaf,yomohi and herbs as I cook the beans.  For mashing Stock, plus my Rice n Lentils recipes, check out this post . These small red beans will take a bit longer than the lentils, likely 60-90 minutes total. I Picked up the beans on my Tuesday trip to Wellspent Market (in Mac Mkt on Alpine, near the Tea Garden) T

 In recent years, many of us have become intersted in Blue Zone areas with higher numbers of centenarians, including Okinawa. There are books and PBS Recently hosted a series exploring Blue Zone lifestyles.  Soup and salad Recently, Aki (Samurai Matcha) filmed a session with Christal, who has been living in Okinawa and researching  the practices of these older adults.  They share tips from her research and visits in this video  - 7 Healthy Habits of Okinawa.   Like my previous post sharing tips from Aki's Japanese lifestyle, anyone can incorporate some or all of these into their own lives.  Aki and Christal open with an invitation to spend time with your friends, and not canceling plans unless it's truly necessary! Spending time with others several times weekly (daily when you can!) supports mental health and happier nature.  Healthy eating - and only till 80% full (hara hachibi bun me) - is common in older Okinawas, (and key in all the Blue Zones.) A variety of ingredients