Super Moons, Creation Myths & Happy Drinks

Summer Series: Inspired Happy Hour, an 8 part series of liberated libations & self-love.

Sharing Heart-Inspired Art, a Poetic Myth, Photography and a Yummy Drink Recipe. Celebrating supermoons and the special days of summer.

Alcohol free Recipe, but there’s suggested options for remixing to match your mood.

Take an hour, at least, to find your sense of happy as a form of self-love and care.

While living in California (2016-2020) I began to enjoy a drink called the Arnold Palmer, its half iced tea and half lemonade, and very delicious. Another drink is named after his wife, Winnie, and uses sweet tea. So I’ve concocted a variety this week based on something I make for my own enjoyment.

Putting a twist on traditions to create better habits, and as always let’s keep it fun and flavourful. Heart and health inspired treats as a reward for all you do as you make your way through the week is a simple way to nuture and please yourself. Stoked to share it!

Self care in a world hooked on being busy is nothing short of a revolutionary act. Satifying a thirst for inspiration and expansive creativity is such an act. One thing I love to do is drink the world in through my awareness. Beauty sure satiates the spirit!

Since I have not yet figured out how to bottle moonlight (projects, projects), this week we have a fine self-care craft bevy to sip while watching the moon rise against the summer sky. Earlier this week we had a supermoon. ‘Twas the Thundermoon! Lately we have been lucky to have a lot of storms. Here’s a poetic myth playing with the energies of the season. Picture us around the campfire trading poems and stories under the full moon listening to a storm roam the horizon. EnJoy!

Myth of the Star called SkyStorm

Once upon a lifetime a golden yellow star fell in love with a blue watery planet. It jumped away from a looming black hole towards what made it feel joy.

As it expressed such a longing to visit this place many of its peers heralded hesitation warning gravity would prevent the star from returning to the eternal sky.

Skirting around the foreboding tales the star tripped and fell where it landed in a herd of roaming clouds. At impact in the atmosphere, its energy folded into a million rays and concentrated into a bolt, a bang, and then a rumble.

Lighting was born in that act with thunder its loyal companion.

As the electricity jolted forth in a focused force it split the open pairs of N7 atoms hanging in the air. The garden of this earth began to grow wild and free balancing the planet into one of blue and green.

The plant world emerged in witness to this love between a world and a star. This is how the green became the child of the sky and the waters with the fiery connection of the one heart feeding itself whole.

The starlight left traces of itself blooming all over the planet and left a template of creative desire expanding for eternity.

Listen here:

HAPPY HOUR RECIPE

Crafting a life to hold all of our fullness begins with nourishment. This week’s drink is full of nutrients, celebrates the abundance of nature and the land we coexist on. This past week held both Canada Day and July 4th so I’m integrating maple and raspberry to create a fresh spin on an American classic, the Arnold Palmer.

Annie’s Maple Razz Palmer

Make Citrus-ade

• Juice 1 each: Lemon, Orange, Lime

• Add 1-2 TBS Maple Syrup

• 2 cups of pure Water

Make Iced Tea

• Steep 2 servings of Tea in 1 cup of Hot Water. (You can use any black or green tea, or a wonderful caffiene free option is Red Raspberry Leaf Tea. Allow to Cool.

Test your concoctions... want it sweeter, or more tart? You decide!

• Pour equal parts of tea and citrus-ade over ice and 3-5 frozen raspberries.

• Garnish with a sprig of lavender or mint.

• Pop it in an insulating cup and take it outside: to the beach, lake, park, etc. Be sure to pop your shoes off and get grounded!

*Organic ingredients are better both on your palete and for the planet.

REMIX it:

• Any citrus variety will work here. Tangerines and mandarins are great options!

• Tea options: fruity black or green, darjeeling, yerba matte or rooibos.

• Toss in a blender with a cup of frozen raspberries for a blended ice drink, yum!

• Adult it with some cold saki, whiskey or limoncello.

Cheers to Living Your Juicy Life!

Health notes:

- Besides being full of delicious flavor, Maple syrup has a lower glycemic index than sugar, and it’s unrefined. It contains over 20 antioxidants, such as quercetin, that reduce blood pressure, and inflammation. It also has manganese, as well as other minerals. Good for digestion and an overall health-conscious lifestyle. Also it can be used topically on your skin for things like dryness or redness, or purely for pleasure. So buy the big bottle ;)

- Citrus fruits are full of vitamins, minerals, plant compounds, and tangy flavor. They are not full of calories, or things that cause kidney stones, strokes, or heart disease (fact! they reduce chances). Full of vitamin which is great for the adrenals. They can reduce inflammation and protect the brain. Refreshing on the skin (post sun-time). I may know someone that rubs the juice from his hands onto his skin. Waste not!

- Red raspberry leaf tea is a treasure trove of benefits! It also stands well in place of black tea as an iced tea. A common ayurvedic herb, especially beneficial for women’s health. It favors good digestion so it’s a wonderful drink to sip before a meal. Raspberry the fruit are tiny yet mighty and abundant in nutrients while low in sugar. What do you call a bunch of raspberries playing the drums? A jam session.

Happy Weekend,

Nichola

Protect our waters and water loving friends and creatures by supporting sustainable stewardship by being the change through conscious caretaking of this awe-inspiring planet.

*All writting, audio, art, and photos created by Nichola @ Mystic Peaks Studio