Welcome to February!

I love the fresh beginnings of the New Year, and have enjoyed easing into 2007 by honoring the season of winter in a different way than I've done in years past. Think about it, all of nature is resting, knowing that spring is around the corner with new growth ahead, but for now everything sleeps.

I have been resting more too, giving myself the time I need to heal from the events of 2006 - uncharacteristically without an agenda for my career, waiting to see in what direction I am led with my music, writing and speaking.

In the meantime, I am grateful to be feeling quite remarkably well, and looking forward to several performance dates this month with the Acoustic Trio. Of special note is the benefit concert on February 16th at Christ Community Church for Jenny Carlisle - a fellow ovarian cancer survivor - a young woman with four young children - who has endured hardships that make the challenges of my own season with cancer, pale by comparison. Jenny's story reminds me of the capricious nature of life and how we are all vulnerable to anything happening at anytime, yet I am bolstered by the knowledge that all of us are truly in this together. We take turns being cared for, and caring for others.

Here's to a month of reflection and restoration. As the sap strengthens in the resting trees, our body, mind and spirit replenishes in anticipation of spring.

The Music Of Life is available online at   www.Amazon.com or www.CDBaby.com or pick it up at these local retailers:   Davis Kidd Booksellers at the Green Hills Mall   Borders Bookstores All Nashville area locations: West End, Brentwood and Coolsprings    St. Mary's Bookstore on West End Avenue   Belle Meade Drugstore White Bridge Road, across from Target   Logos Bookstore in Green Hills   The Shoppe for Simple Pleasures 810 NW Broad St. in Murfreesboro   Tennessee Memories Bandywood Plaza

LIVE: Ruth and The Acoustic Trio

 Benefit Concert for Jenny Carlisle

Friday, February 16th at 7:00pm

Christ Community Church, Franklin TN

Jenny Carlisle is a 31 year old mother of 4 young children.

During her 4th pregnancy in June 2005, she was

diagnosed with ovarian cancer and after a brief remission,

the cancer is back and has spread extensively.

We are participating in a benefit concert and silent auction

to help raise funds for Jenny and her family.

Please join us for this very important event!

For more information, please visit

www.jennycarlisle.com

Tips for Healthy Living

February's Recipe of the Month

Winter is a great time for warm, substantial foods. This lasagna recipe is rich, but packed with nutrients - the fat content somewhat balanced by a higher fiber lasagna noodle. Pesto is the secret ingredient!

Ruth's Spinach Lasagna
12 pieces Dreamfields lasagna (or lasagne of your choice)

Two 24-oz. jars of Barilla Marinara sauce (or sauce of your choice)

Filling:
One 30-oz. container of part skim Ricotta cheese
One 15-oz. container of whole milk Ricotta cheese
One 7-oz. container of Buitoni Pesto with Basil
One 16-oz. package of frozen chopped spinach

Topping: 

1 and a half to 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 half to 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Prepare a well-oiled 9x13 baking dish.

Cook 12 lasagna noodles (4 at a time works best) in a large pot of boiling water, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, about 10 minutes.Drain each piece on dampened paper towels, and set aside on plastic wrap (to keep from sticking).

In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, pesto and thawed/drained spinach.

Spread enough marinara sauce to cover bottom of pan (about a cup). Put down 3 noodles.

Spread one third of the filling mixture over noodles.

Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the filling - about 1 cup.

Repeat layers of marinara, noodles, filling and mozzarella 2 more times.

Finish with last layer of noodles, cover with marinara and sprinkle with parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes (should be bubbly) then uncover and bake for 10 minutes to lightly brown the top. Let rest before serving.

The Music of Life:

Journal Entries of a Cancer Survivor

Early on in my season with cancer, I claimed survivor status as defined by The Lance Armstrong Foundation: "Survivorship begins at diagnosis and continues through treatment and beyond."  While I continue to embrace this view, I have found that with remission comes a different phase of survivorship, a welcome one to be sure, but with its' own set of challenges.

Nine weeks out from my last chemo treatment, and five weeks since hearing the words, "You're in remission," the emotional rollercoaster I described in the January newsletter continues to whip me around some pretty jagged curves. I feel like the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, after the Wicked Witch of the West has her monkeys pull him apart, scattering bits of his straw here and there. Like the Scarecrow, I've survived the storm, and am returning to a much more pleasant, functional life. But I still feel the effects of having had the stuffing knocked out of me.

I think there are many of us walking around with this feeling, due to the aftereffects of any number of life's storms. Whether it is surviving a life-threatening disease, a broken relationship, the death of a loved one, or any unspeakable loss - the calm after the storm can in some ways be harder than the storm itself, as we pick up the pieces and try to get back to normal. We feel we should bounce back - and certainly, our culture expects it of us. But the fact is, after any life-changing experience, we never get back to normal. We can't just go back to the life we had before the cancer diagnosis, before the painful divorce, before the unspeakable loss.

As I continue to negotiate the wild ride of remission, I remind myself that healing of every kind, takes patience and time. For the first time in my life, I am giving myself the time and the space I need to learn how to live in a new way. I don't know what my life will look like three months from now, and I am slowly learning to surrender the need to know. This is a gift - one of what I anticipate will be many unexpected gifts, of my survivorship.