Shows
Simply Good Living with TischEpisode 24 | Growing Tomatoes in Alaska - Don't Let the Situation Change YouSummer Solstice is a great time of year, but it is especially noticeable near the Arctic Circle - where the sun does not set.... literally.... there is no sunset.... which is a wild phenomenon if you have never experienced it. Despite all the extra hours of light in the far North, a tomato plant given to us by a friend, produced fruit that never made it past the "green ball" phase. We learned that the plants up there need a greenhouse to get them to ripen - because they need the consistent warmth along with the sunlight to get...2024-06-2013 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 23 | Hot Days, Thirsty Plants, and Soaking up Some Quiet Time to Recharge YourselfIt's turned hot and humid in the South, so we've had to work a little smarter and less harder to manage the heat. During our time outdoors working and clearing brush, I had a chance to really appreciate the world around me. No screens, no ear buds, just me and nature. It was such a wonderful moment of peace, that I took the time to truly appreciate what was around me. Taking time to do this helps recharge our system, just like watering the thirsty plants out in the garden.2024-06-1613 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 22 | Amazing Crow Facts and the Importance of Being in a CommunityCrows are amazing, and even those who have studied them for decades are mystified by their intelligence and social behaviors. Crows keep a close family unit and the hatchlings of last year, are the babysitters this year. A baby crow lives and learns for several years before heading out to start their own family. Crows can count and communicate important information along great distances to other members of the group. And because of this, they are wildly successful at adapting and raising young. They are stronger together than a single bird alone.2024-06-1216 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 21 | Deer Trails, Neural Pathways, and Getting Stuck in a RutDo you ever find yourself thinking the same depressing, negative, or pwerless thing about a situation, or person? Why does this always happen? There she goes again.... I guess there's nothing I can do... Our brains are hardwired to see dangers and problems everywhere... and in the good old days, when life expectancy was age 35 for men, and even less for women - it was a helpful path for our brains to develop (like survival of the fittest). But, that same survival mechanism creates a heaping help of misery for us today. The other c...2024-06-0914 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 20 | Changing the Station on Negative Thoughts and the Wonder of MockingbirdsHuman Nature is a pretty negative thing, we are tuned into the worst, the bad, the danger.... so what can we learn from the Mockingbird to change the station?Want to learn more about this amazing bird? Or hear some recorded riffing? Here's a trusted source to learn more (including a handy map of where they like to sing): https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Mockingbird/overview#2024-06-0512 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 19 | The Gratitude of Birds and Noticing HappinessWe've just had a day of rain, with cool temperatures and a dreary sky. But, it's evening and the birds are singing all around the yard and garden. As I pause to take in the beauty of the sound, a peace and sense of contentment fill my soul and I want to share this with someone. What makes for happiness? Why do we tend to notice all the negatives? I've just started a new book on the topic of happiness and will be sharing more about my discoveries on this topic. Here is the book...2024-06-0206 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 18 | Walking in the Garden and How to be Good at SomethingDid you know that God's first name is Andy? It's a cute joke, but as I walked in the garden today it reminded me of a hymn and the joke. I started this podcast as a way to share stories and lessons from the garden that have helped me and others grow a positive mindset. But, this podcast almost never happened. I had never thought of doing a podcast, and didn't like the idea that I might not be good at it. But that fear is true about anything we've never done before. Every succes...2024-05-3010 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 17 | Dealing with DissappointmentThe garden is growing and is actually further along than we've been in years past. And we are celebrating the excitement of green tomatoes growing on the vine. But we also have some things that just aren't going the way we planned, planted, or hoped.So, how do you deal with things that don't happen the way you wanted?It really comes down to saying "so what?...now what?" and moving into a solutions phase rather than staying too long being upset that it happened. Sir Ken Robinson has a super TED T...2024-05-2409 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 16 | Zachie Bass Bird and GritGrit... Strength... Survival... Determination.... What does it mean to be a survivor? How does adversity and challenge make us stonger? In this episode, I share the story of an extraordinary red-winged blackbird that we nicknamed Zachary Bass, after a movie character who survived against all odds. This one bird, inspired us to become "bird nerds" and learn more about our feathered friends, and the true meaning of challenges that make us stronger.2024-05-1712 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 15 | Oh Deer!We've had a lot of rain and I'm standing outside the garden looking at the growth and considering our deer fence - a simple set-up of metal posts and fishing line. How in the world does something so simple keep out the deer? They brush against it at night and it startles them. That's it... the fence isn't really keeping them away from their goal, their fear of the unknown is what keeps them away from the delicious okra and beets they want to gobble up. Hopefully the deer never Google the solution to this issue... ...2024-05-1316 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 14 | Looking for Sunflowers and Seeking the PositiveSunflowers have a few amazing qualities... one of which is that they always seek the sunlight. We have several volunteer sunflowers popping up around our bird feeders and in the garden. Even though they are just a few inches tall, and there are no flowers on them... I can always tell the sunflower seedlings hiding in the clover and grass... because in the morning they are bent toward the sunrise, and in the evening they are bent towards the sunset. It is an amazing phenomenon that can help us in our own lives. Want to know m...2024-05-1013 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 13 | Green Ball Syndrome and The Joy Thief named ComparisonWe just started our yearly bout with something we call "Green Ball Syndrome." It's a condition we bring on ourselves, and happily suffer through the effects of this condition. Green Ball Syndrome is what we call it when our tomato plants fruit. The pretty yellow flowers turn into a tiny green sphere that given the proper conditions, turns into a delious, ripe, red, home-grown tomato! My dear hubs had a funny chat with his brother when they were both growing tomatoes in their gardens, which led to the green ball joke. However, comparing ourselves to others, is no...2024-05-0608 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 12 | Nip It! (or the art of being a good hoer)"I love pulling weeds!" said no one ever!Weeds can ruin a garden, but how do you keep them under control? We nip them with a garden hoe, before they get too large to deal with easily.In this episode, we'll talk about hoeing, nipping, and dealing with the weeds in our lives before they take over.2024-05-0312 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 11 | Killer Dirt and Growing Beyond Your MistakesA garden is never the same from one season to the next, it's a lot like life. But for some reason, I can accept that things won't always go the way I planned in the garden. In our lives, we can take things so seriously. Replay incidents, accidents, and events over and over. But, we can never change the past. So, how do we learn from what happened but not dwell on it? Failing forward is a concept I'll share in this episode, along with a story about some of the big garden fails we've had but that w...2024-04-3013 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 10 | Big Talk and Choosing What You Allow to Speak into Your LifeIn this episode I share a story about a sign in my school's teacher's lounge that read, "Don't Talk About Yourself, We'll do that After You Leave!" Just before an acredidation board came to tour the school, my dear hubs helped me make a sign to hang alongside this one that showed a version of Eleanor Roosevelt's quote about Large Minds Discuss Ideas, Medium Sized Minds Discuss Events and Small minds Discuss People. Funny enough, both signs disappeared within a week.But, the idea behind Eleanor Roosevelt's quote - about the size of our "ta...2024-04-2708 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 9 | Maximum Dammage and Channeling Your Resources to What MattersMy dear hubs likes to tease me about how good I am at creating "maximum dammage" in the garden. It's a fun play on words, because we build up a dam of dirt around each row of tomato plants - it helps us funnel water to the roots of those plants instead of splashing water everywhere. In this episode, we'll talk about ways to channel our resources to the things that need them.... and to weed out the things that we shouldn't be pouring our limited time, effort, attention and creative energy into. To see a video of ou...2024-04-2312 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 8 | It Could Be Worse and the Art of Seeing the Silver LiningHave you ever had someone tell you, "well, it could be worse"?Is there always a silver lining? A positive mindset doesn't make the circumstances dissappear, but it can certainly make the trip better for us and all the passengers around us. In this episode I share a funny story that my dear hubs likes to tell, along with some insights from the garden and life to help us consider ways to look for the positive.2024-04-1709 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 7 | The Instant Garden and Success can be DeceivingEach year our neighbors think we have an instant garden... but the truth is that appearances can be decieving. Like with social media. It is easy to think that everyone is living the good life and you are missing out. In this episode I'll share 3 simple steps to get your joy and sense of contentment back if you've been scrolling and not finding peace.2024-04-1408 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 6 | Keep on the Sunny Side While Dealing with Serious Health ConcernsHow do you keep on the sunny side when there is so much to be worried about?In this epsisode I'll share how life feels when you don't know what results you'll hear or what that will mean for your life. So much uncertainty can create an environment of anger, frustration, and chaos. So, how do you stay in control and not let the anxiety win?2024-04-1107 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 5 | The Relaxation Station and Subtracting the Unneeded to Make Room to BreatheThe Relaxation StationIt's the day of the Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024 and lots of folks are really excited to "watch" this amazing event. We're focused on the next cancer test today and keeping life good and happy while we "hurry-up and wait". There's a little cabin in our yard with a porch and a sign that reads "The Relaxation Station". It's a physical reminder of taking the time to relax. But, how can you relax when you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or full of anxiety? We use the most important part of the alphabet to cr...2024-04-0809 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 4 | Befriend the Birds Why Having a Hobby is EssentialBefriend the BirdsPicking up a hobby or a long term project, show to binge, or other occupation to keep your spirits bright can have a positive energy effect. Bird song and bird activity bring a bright spot to the day and can lead to a great hobby as you gain their trust and get to know the various birds visiting you.The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has an outstanding FREE app to identify the birds you see and hear - It’s called Merlin Bird ID : https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/download/ With...2024-04-0407 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 3 | Topping off the Tank Principle and How to Prepare for the UnknownTopping Off Our TanksHave you ever stuffed as much fuel or gas as you could in your vehicle's tank? We're usually pretty good at watching the fuel gauge on our source of transportation, but how much attention do we pay to our body's fuel level? Our mental, spiritual, and physical energy? This episode shares a story with the purpose of providing us with reminders to fuel up, top off the tank, and keep an eye on our fuel gauge.2024-03-3005 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 2 | The Advocate Question, Who is Standing Up for You?The Advocate Question: Who do you fight for? Care for? How do you do it?Being an advocate for a loved one is a responsibility, and a beautiful way to care for them and help them. It helps us as caregivers to know that we are getting the answers and care necessary for our dear one. But, who is our advocate? So often we forget, or neglect ourselves because we don’t want to be selfish, or self-centered, or even weak. However, taking a step to care for ourselves is vital to maintaining the level of...2024-03-2608 minSimply Good Living with TischEpisode 1 | Getting Lost, and Found AgainGetting lost, and found again...Sometimes our life seems like a cycle, we get it all together and everything is jamming.Then, little-by-little, over time things fall apart. But we don't notice because we're busy. Or we notice, but are so overwhelmed that we can't find a solution. Caring for others, caring for our careers, caring for causes, there is so much to care about. And we forget to care for ourselves. This trailer episode is my story of getting lost, and the simple thing that brought me back again.2024-03-2407 min