Supermoon Viewing Party

Tonight and tomorrow night, the sky holds a special treat for those who gaze east at sunset. November hosts a supermoon. My friend Georgia, who visited my backyard garden last night, chatting and dining around the fire pit, reciprocated this evening with an invitation to watch the supermoon rise. 


Georgia has a new contemporary home just down the street from me. I had the joy and privilege of serving as her realtor on that purchase. Her beautiful house has a loft upstairs that is perfectly situated with large windows that offer an eastern view. 


This gracious friend prepared a wonderful chopped veggie salad and had other suitable plant based snacks on hand. Georgia, Greg and I carried plates of food up to the impromptu observation deck, ready to be dazzled by the moon, which tonight was just shy of full. 

According to NASA, the moon’s orbit around the Earth is slightly elliptical, so sometimes the moon is closer and sometimes it’s farther away. When the moon is full as it makes its closest pass to Earth, it is known as a supermoon. At perigree—the point at which the moon is closest to Earth—the moon can be as much as 14 percent closer to Earth than at apogee, when the moon is farthest from our planet. The full moon appears that much larger in diameter and 30 percent brighter. 

The biggest and brightest supermoon for observers in the United States will be on Monday morning just before dawn.


Because our forecast for today and tomorrow was partly cloudy, we opted to view the supermoon tonight, while we had relatively clear skies. There was a low lying front to the east, however, from our darkened loft we watched appreciatively as the amber colored moon broke free from the haze and climbed into the evening sky. 

In my lifetime, I’ve watched many moonrises. It never gets old. Perhaps because my full name, Cynthia, means “moon”, I have always felt an affinity toward the earth’s beautiful natural satellite. This supermoon is the closest one we have had, since 1948. There won’t be another moon that sails this close to the earth until 2034. My phone’s camera couldn’t capture how gorgeous the moon was…but my eyes took it all in and saved it as a memory. 

I appreciate my friend and my neighbor, Georgia, for inviting me to share in this once in a lifetime event, from the comfort of her home. I am grateful, too, for the colorful and delicious salad. I’ll be making this tasty meal at home. 

Supermoons and superfriends…they inspire me to keep looking up. 

Friendship, Food & Fire

This incredibly beautiful fall day was perfect for spending time outdoors. I puttered in my backyard garden, trimming back spent flowers. Unlike this time last year, when we had already experienced a hard freeze, that is all that needed doing today. Due to warmer than normal temperatures, the garden is lush and full and still growing. There is an untamed wildness to it that I am loving! 


The gorgeous day transitioned into an equally gorgeous evening, with just enough chill in the air to make a fire welcome. My good friend Georgia joined Greg and me in a simple fireside dinner. 

Although we have discussed sitting in the garden around the fire pit many times, this was Georgia’s first such visit. Greg got a fire blazing as I prepared our food. This was also the first time I have shared a plant based meal with a friend or family member since I made this dietary change four months ago. Georgia already avoids gluten and limits sugar intake. She was very willing to sample a typical vegan dinner. 


I offered one of my favorite meals…roasted seasoned potato wedges with freshly made marinara sauce. Chopped tomatoes and avocadoes completed our meal. 

It was fun to dine around the crackling fire. An almost full moon rose to spill silvery light across the backyard. We enjoyed animated conversation across a broad spectrum of topics. One of the things I love about Georgia is that we can talk about so many interesting subjects! 


In the middle of our little circle of friendship, the dancing flames repeatedly drew our gaze, mesmerizing us. Firelight is so cheerful while being magical and mysterious at the same time. I can stare into its burning heart for hours. 

Georgia declined “dessert”,  however, after she headed home I decided I had to try a recipe from the Life Changing Foods book. I had struggled earlier in the day with my long held belief that when one has guests for dinner, dessert is offered at the end of the meal. It’s time to shift that belief. I wavered between no dessert at all and offering fresh fruit. Then I remembered a simple recipe from Anthony William. 

Called Apples with ‘Caramel’ Dip, I prepared it by slicing up an apple, and created the sauce by blending dates soaked for a couple of hours in water with half a teaspoon of cinnamon. So easy…and so delicious while being a healthy alternative to dessert. 

You’ve got to come back soon, Georgia, for another fireside dinner and chat, and to sample the apples and dip!