New Diets = New Recipes

As Dad and Mom go grain-free and low-lectin and Elsa and I attempt to heal from SIBO with the help of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, new recipes are needed. One day I gathered my scribbled notes and made copies of recipes I'd tried with all my changes. No wonder these have been busy weeks!

One attempt was bread made mainly from almond flour and eggs. Not stellar, but something to eat (and to use as a base for a BLT when the tomatoes were ripe.) But the almond flour pancakes were a win!

Another recipe I tried took a whole zucchini just in from the garden. Along with a couple eggs, homemade salsa, and some fresh veggies, I had a hearty omelet meal.

A Sunday Gift

This stunning bouquet came home from church for Elsa and me to enjoy. 

Thank you, Karen!

Abigail Adams: Letters

These have been busy weeks again. More on that later. 

But for now, the extra activity and extra enjoyment have caught up with our bodies.

That means it's time to sit and knit again. This project will end up restocking the "C" pillow cover for our nautical signal-flag line at The Nautical Nordic.

Meanwhile, audio books are a must.

At over 40 hours in duration, this audio book should get us through many days "on the couch." Abigail Adams wrote fascinating, thoughtful, witty, insightful and personal letters to her family and friends. Even a brief perusal shows how fit she was to be the wife of the second president of the United States (as well as the mother of the sixth!) We don't have her rich command of English language at the tip of our pens any longer... more's the pity. 

As the sun set over our peaceful flower beds and prairie trees last night, we were transported to the dangerous environs of 1774 Boston with Abigail and her young children waiting weeks for news of the safety of their beloved husband and "Par." They would willingly sacrifice much more than those times of stable family life for John Adams to participate in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia - and for the ultimate freedom of their countrymen.

How encouraging to hear Abigail frequently find comfort in God's word and share applicable Bible verses with her husband!

Summertime Cats

More gifts are made,

more leftover yarn used,

and more hours of enjoyment,

learning (via audiobooks),

and distraction from pain

have been lived.

The visible result?

A Siamese cat

and a farmyard cat.

Meanwhile, our silly,

part-Russian-Blue farm-cat

loves having us spend

more time outdoors!

   

Summertime Meals

Dad's gardens are flooding us with many varieties of delicious produce. Besides supplying 90 percent of the food at many of our meals, we are kept busy harvesting, processing, and storing away for winter meals.

Everything on this plate but the store-bought onions and the beef raised by friends is fresh from our garden!

Early Summer Bouquets

Lotus Buds

Another free audiobook is ready to enjoy (here)! I only helped with a few chapters in this group project, but having read the e-book a few years ago, I remember how delightful the work was as a whole. 

I have quoted Amy Carmichael on my blog many times. To learn much more about her life and years of ministry in India, I would recommend Elisabeth Elliot's biography titled, A Chance to Die. 

But this little book is focused on the many children Amy rescued and raised - her little "Lotus Buds." As she writes to begin:

"The book has been written for lovers of children. Those who find such young life tiresome will find the story dull, and the kindest thing it can ask of them is not to read it at all."

Besides the samples of daily life and examples of quirky personalities sketched by Amy's skillful pen, the e-book (available for free here) contains dozens of beautiful photographs.

Summer Begins

For our family,  the 4th of July heralds the start of summery lake days, though we don't often get to the lake now compared to when we were kids.

At home, summer has been obvious for quite some time. Plants are visibly growing almost daily,  except for those flowers that dislike this year's unusual heat. 

Our sweet corn is already showing tassels; forget "knee-high by the 4th of July!" We are eating well on a bountiful harvest of a variety of greens and enjoyed the first summer squash and zucchini for supper. 

Of course Independence Day means more to us than just the start of summer... or even a day to enjoy 100 relatives gathered together. It is a reminder of the godly heritage with which we have been blessed. It should also be a warning that our country can not remain "the land of the free" if we continue to stray from God's word, on which so much of our country was built. 

Cotton Season

     Cotton...

     ... cotton...

     ...everywhere! 

Our cottonwood trees are prolific this season. The right breeze can cause heavy "snow"-showers. For those who live with it every year, it takes work to see beauty in what sticks to every plant and gives the whole lawn a grey hue. 

But I still remember the awe with which others' unaccustomed eyes enjoyed the sight during the hot summer semester I spent at university. And I can picture the way we used to play with it as kids - gathering the drifts from the front steps and even stuffing a doll pillow with the damp fibers, which soon turned smelly!

Though we may not see much beauty in the yearly deluge, maybe we can still see humor and sing, "Snow-puffs that lodge in my nose and eyelashes..."