Sagebrush Smudge Stick Tutorial

As I told you in my previous post (HERE), 

my family and I are on holiday in New Mexico, 

at our family vacation home.

Our land and beyond is covered with sagebrush 

and I love to make sagebrush smudge sticks, 

when I am here.

Outside our house

WHAT IS A SMUDGE STICK 
AND WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?

A smudge stick is a bundle of dried woody, resinous herbs, usually tightly bound with string 
in a small bundle and dried. 

The herbs are later burnt as part of a ritual or ceremony.

The purpose of burning certain herbs, or smudging, 

is to create a cleansing smoke cloud, 

which is used to purify people, rooms or buildings, 

ceremonial and ritual space 

and ceremonial tools and objects.

The burning of herbs is a practice held sacred by many indigenous cultures. 

It is a ritual for cleansing, purifying, protecting and healing 

the physical and spiritual bodies. 

The effect of the smoke is to banish evil spirits, 

negative energies and bad influences. 

The practice dates back to Babylonian times. 

While it is often practiced by members of Native American cultures, it has been also embraced by a variety of other spiritual followers. 

SOME HERBS YOU MAY USE IN SMUDGING:

• White sage or Sacred sage (Salvia apiana), sacred to a number of U.S. Native American people.

• Cedar

• Sweetgrass

• Yarrow

• Mugwort

• Lavender

You can also make your own smudge stick

and below, I will show you how.

WHAT IS SAGEBRUSH?

Sagebrush, not to be confused with sage, 
the culinary herb Salvia officinalis, 
is a common name applied generally to several woody and herbaceous species of plants 
in the genus Artemesia.

The best known sagebrush is the shrub Artemisia tridentata.

Sagebrush is native to the North American west 

and other parts of the world.

Sagebrush is a perenial (a plant that lives more than 2 years) 

and can in fact reach ages of 100 years. 

It is an aromatic shrub 

with a strong pungent fragrance and a bitter taste. 

It has straight, stiff stems.

Sagebrush can grow to be 2 to 12 feet tall.

The leaves have ragged three-toothed edge 

("tridentata" means "three-toothed") 

and are greenish.

The actual plant is silvery-grey and roundish.

It has small white or yellow flowers 

that grow close together 

in clusters.

Source
Leaves and flowers of Artemisia tridentata

WHAT IS SMUDGING?

Smudging is a traditional Native American method of burning sacred herbs to produce a smoke cloud, which is used in various cleansing or prayer ceremonies and purification or healing rituals. 

During the smudging ceremonies and rituals, the smoke may be fanned either using the hand, feathers or a fan.

Source

Originally the herbs were placed in special herb bowls and burned. 

The dried herbs were then tied into easily portable bundles called "smudge sticks" and were included in the content  of medicine bags. 

When using smudge sticks, light and blow out your bundle until it is smoldering like charcoal. 
You may place it in a fire-resistant bowl, or walk around with it holding a dish below, to catch any falling ashes.
Focus on what you would like to accomplish as you smudge.

HOW DO I MAKE 
MY OWN SMUDGE STICK?

THINGS YOU WILL NEED:

• A basket

• Fresh sagebrush branches

• Twine/string

• Garden shears

• Scissors

Remember that anything you use to bind the bundle will eventually burn, 
so it is advisable to stick with natural materials that will not give off a toxic fume 
or compete with the smudge smells. 

I suggest using thin organic cotton or hemp string.

Red is a common color for ceremonial usage, 
which is why you will see many commercially sold bundles, bound with it.
I love the color turquoise blue and so this time, 
that is what I used.


•••

• Harvest the sagebrush. Use garden shears to cut the branches to equal lengths of 7 to 10 inches long.

• Cut an 8-feet long piece of string (to be on the safe side)

I wanted to make two 8-inch and two 10-inch bundles.

• Line up the branches so that the fuller leafy ends are all at one end and the woody stems are at the other. Create a loose bundle.

• Tie the twine around the woody base of your bundle. Use a double knot to hold the string in place and wrap it around the base a couple of times.

• Hold the stems in one hand while you wrap the string around the bundle with the other hand, moving towards the leafy end (diagonally). Wrap the bundle tightly. As the sage dries, it will shrink, so you want the string to stay tight. 

• Once you reach the end of the leafy side, wrap back towards the base. The string will create a zigzag pattern around the bundle. 

• When you reach the starting point, wrap the string around the base several times, then tie it in a double knot to secure.

• Wind in the excess string through the woody end and snip. Place the sage bundle on a flat hard surface, like a table. Lightly press the bundle while rolling it back and forth with your hands, a few times. This will compress the bundle, making it into a tightly packed smudge stick. Then mold it with your hands to give it a nice straight shape. Groom your smudge stick using your scissors. Snip away any stray leaves or branches to give it a smooth tubular shape.

Voilà!

• Place the smudge on a drying rack and let it dry for about a week. After one week, it should be dry and ready for burning.

Peace & Love,

CAUTIONS:

Make sure the area you are smudging is well ventilated. This is a health precaution as well as a spiritually practical one, as the negative energy will need an "escape route".

Do not use near infants or very young children, people with respiratory problems such as asthma, or pregnant women.

Never leave burning smudge unattended.


•••



Thanks for stopping by,
Alexandra

My Avocado Pie

I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend.

My husband André, our baby James and I 

were traveling over that weekend 
and we actually spent 

the 4th of July packing and getting ready to leave 
for our road trip, the next day.

So it was a very busy day for us, yet full of excitement, 

since we had been longing for our Summer vacation.

When the night fell, we still enjoyed, from our deck, 

the festive sights and sounds of fireworks that lit up the sky, all around our neighborhood. 

Then off to bed for a good night sleep.

Each year, we drive to Taos, NM 

to our family vacation home. 

Our family has had the house for 25 years 

and we all love being there so much. 

It is a very special place.

New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment...

It takes us 2 days to drive there. 

We usually stop over for the night either in Winslow, AZ

  "Well, I'm a standin' on the corner 

in Winslow, Arizona..."

Remember the Eagles song, Take it easy?

There is a hotel there that we are very fond of,

or we also like to stay in the cutest little motel in Williams, AZ on Route 66.

This time, we decided to take a very different way and 

check out Monument Valley.

It was absolutely gorgeous! 

A first time, for all of us.

That's us!

We got to Taos Monday night. 

So happy to be back!

We have already gone twice to

our favorite restaurant, here.

A place where you can enjoy very tasty New Mexican dishes.

A place where my husband and I 

had Avocado Pie for the first time 

and fell in love with that scrumptious dessert.

A couple of days ago, 
I decided that I was going to make my own avocado pie
and so I looked on the Internet to get a few ideas.
I would like to share with you my own recipe, 
which worked wonderfully.

By the way, it is also heavenly as a frozen dessert,
perfect for a hot summer day or night.

If you either like

Avocados,
Lime,
Creamy desserts,
Frozen desserts,
Cheesecakes,
Sweetness,
A little tartness,

Or all of the above,

this recipe is for you!


INGREDIENTS

For the Crust

20 Graham crackers

1 stick (8 Tbsp) of melted unsalted butter

1/4 cup of granulated sugar

For the Filling

3 medium avocados

1 package (8 oz) of cream cheese, room temperature

1 can (14 oz) of sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup of fresh lime juice

1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

To Make the Crust

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter.
• In your blender, combine crackers (in pieces), sugar and melted butter.
• Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal (like brown sugar).
• Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch buttered springform pan. Try to make the crust evenly all around.

• Chill the crust for 30 minutes to an hour before you bake it, this will help prevent crumbling when serving. 
• Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are slightly brown. Do not over brown it.
• Remove crust from oven and let it cool down on a wire rack, then chill in the refrigerator before filling.

To Make the Filling

• Halve and pit the avocados. Scoop out the flesh and chop.
• Transfer to a large bowl, add the cream cheese and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth.
• Add the condensed milk, lime and lemon juices and the pinch of salt. Beat until fluffy.
• Pour the filling into the crust.

• Press gently a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface and chill at least 4 hours.

• Remove the springform ring. 

• Unstick the pie delicately from the base of the pan and transfer to a large plate or cake platter.
• Slice the pie and serve immediately (the top will start to brown as the pie sits).

I am keeping my pie in the freezer so that it does not brown.

When I am ready to serve the pie, I take it out of the freezer, slice it, plate it 

and then let it thaw a bit before serving 

(or serve it frozen).

Yummy!

Voilà!

My husband had 3 words to say:

"To Die For!"

Have a great Sunday!

Thanks for stopping by,

Alexandra

Father's Day Ceramics

Ceramic Coin Tray

A few weeks ago, I talked (HERE) about a place that I really like, 

Color Me Mine.

My son and I went back again to the Pasadena studio, 

to make something special for my husband's Father's Day.

❤

Above is a picture of last year's gift.

❤

Now that James is 2

(I will share his 2nd birthday photos with you, very soon)

 I thought we should make something different 

than the foot and hand prints 

that we have been making in the past.

I wanted James to pick up the paint brushes and do whatever he wanted without the help of maman (me)

My little "Matisse"

James and I browsed though the studio to find the perfect piece of pottery for daddy.

We chose 

the mug.

James got right into it!

Always so focussed...

❤❤❤

and so meticulous

We had a great time, James was just super cute.

A few days later, 
we came back to pick up daddy's finished mug.

Et voilà!

I chose the wording and the friendly staff wrote it perfectly.

Daddy loved his new mug!
Thank you baby James!

Thanks for stopping by,

Alexandra

The Beach Boys at The Arboretum

Hello,

Last Sunday I took my husband and baby to The Arboretum in Arcadia, to see 

The Beach Boys, 

at the 22nd Family Music Festival.

(Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, approximately 13 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, 

in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains).

We love the Beach Boys in our family and neither one of us had seen them live.

I had got tickets as a Father's Day gift.
Free for children under 12

My hubby was really happy 

and we were very excited knowing that, 

at the age of 24 months, our son James was going to attend his very first concert 

and it was going to be 

The Beach Boys!

It was another beautiful Sunday here in sunny Southern California,

and our first time at the Arboretum.

The gates opened at 3:00pm for a 5:30pm concert on the Bauer lawn (see center of map below)

We arrived shortly after 3:00pm and got ourselves settled on the lawn, right away. 

We found a perfect spot. 

Close to the stage, but not too much. 

We had brought a blanket, a cooler filled with goodies 

and had not forgotten our hats and sunblock!

It was lovely.

Prior to the concert, 

while James was finishing his afternoon nap in his stroller, 

we were listening to some good tunes 

(they were playing some good old classic rock songs)

and we were sipping some nice chilled Chardonnay wine.

Cheers!

Before the show started,

I took a few photos to share with you.

View of the stage from our seating area.

Behind us, the fountain and the mountains.

The fountain.

While I was photographing, my husband and son James were sitting on the edge of the basin 

with their feet in the water

and James decided to jump in,

fully dressed!

He loves water so much, he could not help himself!

Everybody seemed to have a good time.

Food trucks were on the premises, beer and wine was available for purchase.

Hawaiian shave ice

Where you can find a darling little gift shop
and very clean restrooms.

Picture of the fountain from the other side.

Everyone was asked to close and put away their umbrellas.

The concert started on time and James was awake, 

ready for some 

Fun, fun, fun!

The concert lasted approximately 90 minutes

and it certainly was 90 minutes of 

Good Vibrations.

Dancing away!

The Beach Boys sounded great!

Mike Love and Bruce Johnston in the background.

We danced and sang during the whole show, 

beach balls were flying all around

and James,

who loves music so much also had a blast.

James playing after the concert.

It was a wonderful experience, 

the 3 of us together at a concert

and we cannot wait to go to another one.

In fact, Jack Johnson is playing at the Greek Theatre 

this August and 

hopefully we can get some tickets for it.

Here is a little bit of information about The Arboretum for you:

The Arboretum is 127 acres of plants, natural landscapes, wildlife and historic buildings.

It is home to plant collections from all over the world, including many rare and endangered species.

The garden is also the site of historical landmarks representative of major phases of California history.

There is a variety of gardens and landscapes like aquatic gardens, a herb garden, a rose garden and many more.

The Arboretum is also an official wildlife sanctuary where you can see peafowl, species of resident and migratory birds, aquatic creatures as well as numerous species of small reptiles and mammals.

The Arboretum Library is a bountiful resource for information about plants and wildlife.

In addition to concerts and tours, they offer activities and event that cater to every audience.

The Garden & Gift Shop is very cute.

I learnt a lot from their well-built website and read many reviews on the internet.

The Arboretum seems to be a paradise for nature lovers, botanists 

and gardeners alike.

I look forward to going back and exploring.

Thanks for stopping by,

Alexandra