May Harvest 2017 - Radishes

A taste of fresh, crisp, and slightly hot radishes

May Harvest 2017 - Peppermint Tea

Even though we cut away chunks of our peppermint mound this spring to give to friends, the first harvest was huge! 

Ten trays full on the dehydrator...

... and much more than that spread out and waiting its turn!

This will make for many lovely cups of tea in the coming year!

A Musical Evening

In early May another year of piano lessons was wrapped up with a recital. 

"Great job" to a special group of students! I love teaching them.

Nine of my ten students shared some music with family and friends.

My family helped make the event possible in so many ways.

The students' families brought treats to share after the recital.

It is fun to see students and parents from years past at these yearly events.

Mother's Day Flowers

Maren ran over for a Mother's Day visit a week early because their gift for Mom was starting to bloom.

Jason had heard Mom talking about not being able to find bulbs for white amaryllis like she enjoys seeing on blogs. So, he ordered some, potted them up, and we are still enjoying the last blossoms weeks later!

Closer to Mother's Day, Dad brought home some roses for Mom. Lovely!

Changes in Plans

Dad has been working hard since retiring last September. Very hard...

Just one of his many projects has been to build rows of beautiful raised gardens - some behind the silo and more on the old barn slab. (I'm sure there will be photos of them and their produce as the year progresses.)

Here Dad is mixing the soil from ingredients he has tested in several different combinations under grow-lights this winter.

But on Friday, May 12th, something happened while Dad was out working. If he hadn't been already sitting on a tractor, he probably would have passed out. Thankfully, the tractor wasn't in gear at the moment!

That night he didn't feel well and couldn't eat. But the next morning he got up early to lead a men's Bible study and then drive the hour to Maren and Jason's greenhouses to help on their busiest sales day of the year. The day before Mother's Day. 

Besides helping the lines of customers as able, he walked 11 miles trying to keep enough hanging baskets out for people to choose from.

Eventually his arms gave out and he felt sick again. It took more than two hours of resting before he could drive home that evening. Since we all thought he had gotten dehydrated those days, he just stayed home all day Sunday resting and drinking water and electrolytes. Then Monday morning he felt great and headed out to plant potatoes in one of the new raised beds. 

Though he managed to finish the job, his first comment back in the house was that he needed to see a doctor. After all, he had to be ready for the trip we had been preparing for many weeks - for doctor appointments six hours away, Tuesday through Friday! 

Well, plans change. 

My aunt was out on her lawn in town on Monday afternoon and heard sirens screaming their way out to the interstate. Dad was in the ambulance (his second for the day) being transported to a cath lab at a larger hospital. The drive usually takes an hour but was much quicker at 90 miles per hour.

By the time Mom and I got there after finishing packing Dorothy's bags for her pre-planned week of respite care, Dad was already in the cardiac ICU following the successful placing of a stent.

Yes, Dad had been pushing through a heart attack for a few days...

What a gift from God to have him back home by Wednesday, doing so well, though worn out and with much lower stamina than pre-heart-attack. Dad actually beat us girls home, as he sent us off on Tuesday as planned but with Maren filling in as driver. Sister-time!

Through all this, we have seen God's hand at work (in too many ways to detail here) and have felt the prayer support of family and friends.

Today Dad begins cardiac rehab. If you think of it, please pray for this process, for wisdom for doctors in the days ahead, and for Dad not to push himself too hard as he recovers.

And praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Following the Light

A late winter shopping trip brought Mom and Dad home with some tulips for Elsa and me to enjoy. These did not have nearly the fragrant allergen content of the later home-grown bouquet mentioned here. 

By setting this vase across the room, we could watch the daily changes of these special flowers which grow and sway to follow the light.

We tend to keep tulips around long past their expiration to enjoy the new beauties that come as the petals grow transparent, change their hue, and curl whimsically. 

Cosy Evenings

Dorothy with a new teddy-bear

Gulliver with Dad

The Shadow's Source

This curious shadow on the floor caught my eye one day.

Looking up revealed the source - a wild and woolly, but beautiful kangaroo fern. 

Heidi's Faith

Every couple of years around here it is time to once again read, or listen to an audio-book of Heidi by Johanna Spyri. Set in the stunning Swiss Alps, the author brings you in among goats grazing in flower-filled pastures in summer, takes you sliding swiftly down the mountain-side in winter, and develops unforgettable characters. This is one of those children's books that continues to be meaningful and endearing no matter how many times it is read, and no matter the age of the reader. 

If you have only seen one of the movie versions, you will have unwittingly come away with a very poor and even twisted idea of this story and its cast of characters. Please read the book to see what all you are missing!

One part of the story line that is (no surprise) misrepresented or entirely missing from the movies is the sincere faith in God that impacts not only Heidi in her time of loneliness and struggle, but is also a key factor in the character of her grandfather.

Take this excerpt, for example:

     "The grandmother called her to come close, and... said, 'Now, child, tell me why you are not happy? Have you still the same trouble at heart?'

     Heidi nodded in reply.

     'Have you told God about it?'

     'Yes.'

     'And do you pray every day that He will make things right and that you may be happy again?'

     'No, I have left off praying.'

     'Do not tell me that, Heidi! Why have you left off praying?'

     'It is of no use, God does not listen,' Heidi went on in an agitated voice, 'and I can understand that when there are so many, many people ... praying to Him every evening that He cannot attend to them all, and He certainly has not heard what I said to Him.'

     'And why are you so sure of that, Heidi?'

     'Because I have prayed for the same thing every day for weeks, and yet God has not done what I asked.'

     'You are wrong, Heidi; you must not think of Him like that. God is a good father to us all, and knows better than we do what is good for us. If we ask Him for something that is not good for us, He does not give it, but something better still, if only we will continue to pray earnestly and do not run away and lose our trust in Him. 

God did not think what you have been praying for was good for you just now; but be sure He heard you, for He can hear and see every one at the same time, because He is a God and not a human being like you and me. And because He thought it was better for you not to have at once what you wanted, He said to Himself: Yes, Heidi shall have what she asks for, but not until the right time comes, so that she may be quite happy. If I do what she wants now, and then one day she sees that it would have been better for her not to have had her own way, she will cry and say, "If only God had not given me what I asked for! it is not so good as I expected!" 

And while God is watching over you, and looking to see if you will trust Him and go on praying to Him every day, and turn to Him for everything you want, you run away and leave off saying your prayers, and forget all about Him. And when God no longer hears the voice of one He knew among those who pray to Him, He lets that person go his own way, that he may learn how foolish he is. And then this one gets into trouble, and cries, "Save me, God, for there is none other to help me," and God says, "Why did you go from Me; I could not help you when you ran away." 

And you would not like to grieve God, would you Heidi, when He only wants to be kind to you? So will you not go and ask Him to forgive you, and continue to pray and to trust Him..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To listen or read the whole book online or by free download, check these links:

Librivox free audiobook: https://librivox.org/heidi-by-johanna-spyri-solo/
Free e-book: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1448

2017 Handwork

Besides restocking mittens for Etsy, this winter and spring have contained several other handwork projects.

Finishing a childhood needlecraft project:

Making a baby gift for a neighbor:

Using up yarn and helping re-stock the prayer-shawls to be given away in our neighborhood:

Making a bed-shawl for myself... the perfect aid with fluctuating body-temperature:

And developing a new line of wool hats to match my mittens:

It's so lovely to be able to take my handwork out to the sunny deck again!

Make-Your-Own Lotion

"Did you know that the average woman puts 515 synthetic chemicals on her body every day without knowing? And 60% of what we put onto our skin is absorbed into our bodies!"Dr. Eric Z. - 3.11.17

Since Elsa and I suddenly developed allergies and multiple chemical sensitivities the week that our bodies crashed under the strain of chronic Lyme disease in 2014, we (as well as our amazingly supportive family!) had to give up all the personal care products, laundry detergents, and even scented candles, etc. that were now destructive to our health. 

The hunt continues for healthy replacements. More and more companies are learning to leave out the toxic ingredients as our culture is being stressed by increasingly pervasive allergies and autoimmune diseases. But some things we still have to make ourselves. So it is nice to run across recipes like this!

Whipped Body Butter

Ingredients

• 1 cup organic coconut oil
• 1 cup organic solid cocoa butter (do not use lotion)
• 15 drops of your favorite topical/aromatic essential oil (such as Lavender or Frankincense essential oils)­

Find directions and a video at the  Young Living blog

The cocoa butter can be substituted with organic shea butter, but the sour smell takes some getting used to. Whereas the cocoa butter and lavender version smells good enough to eat!

O Yes, He Cares

The following song was a gift delivered straight to my heart one morning when I was weighed down with current results of this body's limitations. 

From having to say "no" to many once-in-a-lifetime celebrations for family and friends, to needing to banish to Mom and Dad's room the stunning bouquet of tulips Dad picked and brought in... the ache goes deep.

Along with remembering the words of this hymn I hadn't thought of for ages, I was likewise blessed by reading a card that came in the mail from a friend who understands. She also deals with so many daily challenges and limitations, and she shared how remembering to focus on God is the only way to keep hold of hope.

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth and song;
As the burdens press and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?

Does Jesus care when my way is dark 
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

O yes, He cares; I know He cares, 
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when I've tried and failed 
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief I find no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care when I've said goodby
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks - 
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

O yes, He cares; I know He cares, 
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Frank E. Graeff, 1901

Empty Bowls 2017

This year we knew we couldn't even bring our own food to eat in our Empty Bowls like last year. MCAD flared with just 15 minutes in the crowd even with our masks. But it was still special to pick out our handmade bowl, support the work of our local Salvation Army, and eat a packed lunch in the car with Maren (who enjoyed our soup and bread). 

Back home I enjoyed using my bowl for a breakfast of raw buckwheat porridge.

More Spring Green

One day in mid-April, Gulliver and I went searching for some signs of spring.

We came upon the rotting stump of a cherry tree.

 Upon closer inspection, there was some new growth to be seen.

And a few days later, after a night of gentle spring rains, we awoke to a lawn coming back to life!