2022 Recap: August through October

AUGUST included:

Garden Bouquets

Including many bouquets Mom made for a cousin's wedding reception

Garden Veggies

Our Annual Ice-Cream Visit to Sandridge Gardens



A Day at the Lake

Aerial views of the gardens from the lift rented for house projects

Deconstructing the moldy porch between floor joists and ceiling

Stripping the original cedar siding from our 1976 house



Removing buffalo board to add more insulation

And thankfully the chance to track down and remove more moldy boards we could smell from indoors

In the middle of demolition, reconstruction began.

So lovely to be able to use our "porch" again!



Peak Insulation returned to spray the outside of the house with their low-VOC product.

And our carpenters returned to seal the house back up.

Before the house could be re-sided, Dad tackled the re-setting of our front brick patio.

August ended with our annual garden-picnic!





SEPTEMBER included:

My clean-up after the tree trimming done from the rented lift



A last visit to the lake for Labor Day

More re-construction

Dad sealing every crack against moisture

Washing the wool sweater I would soon need to wear again

And washing up our home-raised, mill-spun wool ...

...to start knitting another Norwegian kofte.

Late-summer garden

Ongoing Kale Harvest

Some of which I dried for green powder

Trying to get to watercolors at least once a month

OCTOBER included:

Restocking the wool yarn we use for the Etsy shop: TheNauticalNordic

An Autumn drive for a walk and picnic in the woods

...which inspired my October watercolor sketch

Autumn Roses

See a time-lapse of Elsa's rose painting on her new YouTube channel: Handmaiden Elsa 
And don't forget to subscribe to enjoy future videos!

Potato Harvest

First snow on October 14th

Sweater knitting on the weekends... and ripping out all this oversized body

Elsa's and my first time to Maren's house since March, where we helped photograph a 10 month old...

Walked and played outside...

And looked up Narwhals in the Encyclopedia (books which this newly-3-year-old has declared to be "fantastit"!)

A large crop of lettuce made it through hard frosts under layers of blankets and tarps.

And the month ended with a special birthday

... which was marked by a special, gluten-free birthday cake! (for those who eat dairy and sugar)

Watch "I Heard the Bells" at Home!

If you weren't able to see the story behind the song "I Heard the Bells" while it was playing in theaters, this week is your opportunity! 

Just follow the link below to learn how you can stream on demand in your own home through the end of December.

https://www.sight-sound.tv/products/i-heard-the-bells

A Season of Singing

"In this season of much singing, I ask those who love our Lord Jesus to ask very specially for singing hearts.

"It would be sad if the lovely Christmas hymns and carols sounded only like a noise – even a noise of music – to Him. But if they are the glad and wondering adoration of our hearts, then I think they will give Him joy.

"Do not forget what Christmas cost Him – Gethsemane and Calvary." 

· Amy Carmichael
Edges of His Ways daily devotional

Merry Christmas!

~ Hannah

Why Eat Fermented Foods?

In December Dad found time to start a new years' supply of sauerkraut. The storage cabbages he grows are so large that it doesn't even take a whole one to make over a gallon of kraut!

See a short video of his sauerkraut-making process by clicking HERE.

Now we wait for the good bacteria to do its job.

So... Why Eat Fermented Foods?!

- For the variety of good bacteria they provide
- To fight bad bacteria such as candida overgrowth
- Promote overall gut health
- May even help prevent allergies

Do you eat fermented foods? 

Let's share our favorites in the comments!





Facts Source: Earthley Wellness

Summer Recap: July 2022

Time to attempt a little more catching up on this full summer, which included:

Cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning to be able to move back into more parts of the house.

Removing layer after layer of porch floor to completely replace the rotted subfloor as well as windows and walls. It was sad to take out the tile we had laid years ago which was still in perfect condition.

More fun was transplanting Mom's collection of fiddle-leaf figs...

...enjoying the flowerbeds...

...and drying herbs for tea.

The 4th of July was a special time with extended family at the lake.

A new generation of second-cousins are starting to play together!

Mid-month we moved our tiny summer-home 6 hours south to a state park to be near two of our clinics.

Elsa and I celebrated our last skin-tests and decided it was time to say goodbye to the allergy clinic after at least 7 years of sublingual antigen treatments.



And we tried to enjoy our campground with little bits of strength now and then despite symptoms flaring from the above-mentioned tests.







Back home the month closed out with Dad and Mom's 45th wedding anniversary!

I Heard the Bells...

There is a Christmas carol we rarely sing even though we likely hear it played on the radio or in stores every year. It is not in our hymnal, so I had not really studied the words until this year, but I do remember feeling somewhat "turned off" by the second-to-last verse when I first noticed it years ago.

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Now that I know the story behind the original poem, it makes so much sense. Henry Longfellow had lost his beloved wife in a traumatic accident that left him not only emotionally, but also physically, scarred. Then their oldest son had run away to join the American Civil War without his father's consent.

The famous poet was surrounded by strife and pain, loss and death. In those years he even lost his poetry.

But have you ever thought about how fitting it is that a Christmas song should speak of hate and wrong? After all, the first Christmas took place among an oppressed people in a country occupied by a powerful enemy. Even Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem was due to a census which would enable the government to oppress them with further taxes. 

These disheartened people had been waiting centuries for God to fulfill his promises to send them a Savior - the Prince of Peace - which looked more hopeless than ever.

But in this dark time, some lowly shepherds out in their fields at night suddenly heard a multitude of angels praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men." 
· Luke 2:14

And so, nearly two centuries later, a broken poet heard those words ringing out through the bells of Christmas. And his hope was renewed.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

If you would like to know more of the story behind this song, find "I Heard the Bells" on Sight & Sound's streaming platform: https://www.sight-sound.tv/

Dad and I got to see the movie on what was supposed to be one of only a few days in theaters, but it was so well-received that showtimes kept being added! We can personally recommend both this movie and the fledgling company that produced it as their first venture, because we have appreciated the theater productions of its parent company, Sight & Sound Ministries, for years now. 

Note: this movie is rated PG and not for young children due to a war injury and a tragic death - though they are portrayed very mildly, all things considered.

Finally, here is the entire poem - including verses we do not hear sung.

Christmas Bells

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
Written 1863

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."