Fall Birthdays and Projects

October went out with one birthday, and November came in with another!

Now we have a 4 year old who will soon have a 2 year-old sister and newborn sibling!

Meanwhile, work continues full-force around here. Our amazing finish carpenters have put in 11 days so far between the basement and porch. They did a beautiful job framing the awkward, deep doorway cut between the old and "new" basements.

Dad's choice of wood ceiling for the basement "library" is lovely!

And Dad and I put in a long, intense day to finish the porch tile with grout.

Finally, this week I learned to can pumpkin!

Both of Grandma's pressure canners are coming in handy. And it was perfect having our carpenters at work in the porch during the first time I tried the smaller canner. The wife of the husband-wife carpenter team could coach me through using the "jiggly-top" version of pressure canning between cutting boards for trim!

Chronic Lyme and Stress

My family and I pulled ticks off ourselves countless times every year growing up here on the prairie, but back then our immune systems were so good that our bodies naturally kept any infections under control.

It wasn't until a wide range of stressors (physical, environmental, and more) came to the overflowing point that our Limbic Systems (part of the nervous system control center deep in the brain) couldn't handle it, and we crashed physically.

With years of supplements, protocols, and avoidance of all the things we were suddenly sensitive to helped somewhat, it wasn't until we started addressing the Limbic System dysfunction that we could even hope to get to the root of all the issues stemming from our bodies being stuck in the chronic stress response.

Want to learn more? There is a free workshop going on this week with so much helpful information! You can join here if interested: 

https://www.limbicsystemrewire.com/sensitivityworkshop

[Replays are available during the event even if you do not have a Facebook account to watch it live.]

~ Hannah

P.S. - Know anyone who could find this information helpful? Feel free to share this post!

You Have Permission!

 

Have you been needing permission to go against the flow, be the odd one out, or break the habit?

Then here it is: "You have permission to shut it off."

When "it" is raising your stress levels, filling your mind with fear & darkness, or simply wasting your time...

Just try it! Turn off the power and notice the difference! In fact you may not know just how much "it" is negatively affecting you until you do so.

What then?! Start to notice all the beauty and gifts around you... or if that is hard to spot right now, look for a way to bring joy to another!

What is your "it"?

• the news

• the ads

• the drama

• the posts

• the stories

• the music

• the talk

• ...

Stop and notice how "it" raises your blood pressure, tightens your muscles, takes over your thoughts, and makes you more depressed, irritable or even fearful.

And when that happens, simply shut it off!

We were made for much more than media!

❤️ Hannah

The Autumn Push

Though we don't farm any of the miles of fields all around, late summer-autumn always meant a seasonal rush of work even in our family. Dad had to fit most of the plowing in of telephone cable after the crops came off, but before freeze-up.

And though that work was sold with the telephone company, these have been extra full weeks again!

Besides garden harvest, the post-mold-remediation house-rebuilding entered a new phase of finish-work. Dad spent days and weeks sanding and spraying paint and finish on woodwork in the shed until it got too cold. 

Then the work moved into the basement (through the window) where Mom and Elsa joined the action.

Meanwhile, Dad had prepared the new subfloor in the porch for tiling. He and I laid the tiles together, and I am still working on cleaning up in preparation for grout.

I also took two trips to town to get our Toyotas serviced - spending a couple hours in the waiting room each time (good knitting time) and running errands, which are huge wins in this healing journey - unthinkable a year or two ago!

It felt so strange to drive through town traffic and enter the grocery store I hadn't seen in probably a decade. To fight the rising stress responses of overwhelm, disorientation, and even grief over "lost" years, I chose to praise God and focus on the progress.

Then another rare event was my driving alone the hour to my sister's house for some lively family-time. The largest, multi-pronged carrot from our raised bed gardens was a hit with the littles!

Back home, I mowed lawn twice this year... a huge win.

A couple days ago Dad and I also got the roses covered for winter. First dirt, then leaves.

Mom and Elsa cleared vegetable and flower gardens.

And I picked in a basket full of bouquet-makings just in time.

This morning we woke to snow! 

Autumn Joys 2023

What do you love about Autumn?!

For some, the season can mean increased pain, allergies, and other symptoms. So it's important for our health and wellbeing that we focus on the gifts and joys the season brings!

My list of Autumn Joys includes:
• cool breezes with warm sun
• colored leaves & the sound they make underfoot
• cosy, longer evenings
• wool sock & sweater weather
• the scent of apples cooking

This year we got on a little stroll through the woods. Amazing!

What is one [or more] of your Autumn Joys?!

Photos taken on our annual autumn drive, 9.28.23

Live & Learn Event - This Week!

Hello, Readers!

You may have noticed that some of my post graphics are labeled "@Purely.HannahMary"... such as in the previous "Be Still" post. That is because they are also posted over on my Instagram account with the theme of:

NATURAL LIVING made SIMPLER
▪︎ Clean Thinking ▪︎ Clean Gardening ▪︎ Clean Personal Care for the Whole Family

If any of this interests you, feel free to find me on Instagram @purely.hannahmary or the Facebook Page of the same name. And read on for a special opportunity for a Free Learning Event this week!

Also, I don't think I've mentioned it on this blog before (because I do not mean to make this a place of advertising), but if you are interested in help finding clean and non-toxic products for personal care for all ages, as well as clean hair care, skincare, beauty products, spa-at-home, and more - including thoughtful gifts for those going through cancer or other health struggles...

Please text my Lemongrass Spa number with the word "info". (To try avoid unwanted messages, my number is split up on the lines below.)

(218) 271

... 8677

Just before explaining the learning opportunity, I have a quick question for you: 

What do you think when you hear the words “Live and Learn”? 

Rather than the negative connotations often attached to that phrase, I love the fact that as long as we Live, we can continue to Learn!

And so I am offering a free, three-day texting event centered around Enjoying Life & Learning Together! With the goal of featuring new topics every other month, each “Live & Learn” event will include 2 days of exclusive video content I record on a variety of topics, with Day 3 saved for catching up and wrapping up.

Here is some feedback I have received from private texting events in the past:

Would you like to join one of these events?
You are invited to the first "Live & Learn" this week! 
• Wednesday–Friday, September 27^th – 29^th 

This month’s topics (shared via videos, under 10 minutes each) are:
• Why Ingredients Matter + Clean Swaps for the Whole Family
• What to Read for Fun & Growth at Any Age (including FREE book lists!)

Of course every texting event also has a giveaway! And those who choose to order any products through this event will be entered to win all the event's Host Rewards of free and half-price items from Lemongrass Spa!

TO JOIN, simply text "LiveAndLearn" to me at the number above!

• No purchase necessary to join the event or win the giveaway.
• Lemongrass Spa and I can ship to US addresses only.
• The Host Rewards winner will be drawn from points earned according to order sizes.
• Event messages and video links will arrive by text so you can watch at your convenience and have the option to opt out at any time.

Have more questions? Text them to me at the number above.

I'd love to "see" you there!

~ Hannah

Come, "Be Still"

Do you ever take time to simply "Be Still" during your days? It may sound impossible in light of your to-do list or all the work you see piling up around...

Yet I can't emphasize enough how healing it can be to just stop and Be Still... for even 3 minutes! (Yes, we do have three spare minutes. Think of all the 3-minute blocks of time that are wasted each day!)

Have you noticed how our culture is increasingly wired against this concept? Next time you are in a line or waiting room, just look around and see how many others are buried in their smart-phones.

And do you find, as I do, that when more tired or stressed, we are even more tempted to turn to our phones for "mindless" scrolling? (Unfortunately, this does affect our minds anyway. But that's another topic...)

When we actually stop and unplug long enough, we may actually start to think! And I've been thinking more and more about how all the noise and images, sensational news and pointless games are no accident.

Instead they are often a real temptation...
• A distraction from the real life we were meant to live
• A replacement to the truth we were meant to ponder
• A poor substitute for the beauty and wonder of the world God has given us
• An opening to subtle (or blatant!) lies
• An "immunization" against what should shock and sicken us
• And a false sense of accomplishment and worth
... among other concerns!

Don't get me wrong! I am also grateful for the ways technology allows us to keep up with loved ones or run a business - especially when chronic illness keeps one at home for years. And I could still think myself into a hole on some less-than-optimal days if I didn't have a good audiobook, audio-Bible or podcast playing through earbuds.

But even then I need to be careful not to let the "perpetual motion" of life keep me from the following reality-check:

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" ~ Psalm 46:10



Oh, how a few minutes of stillness with a verse or two of Truth can reset the mind... and even the body! Let me know if you try it today and how it goes for you!

📖 A few other Bible verses to ponder in light of all this are:
▪︎ Philippians 4:8
▪︎ Romans 12:2
▪︎ Colossians 3:1-2
▪︎ Isaiah 26:3

~ Hannah