Our recent outing to a lake

 Hello Ladies,

Recently on a low energy day, I was struggling with the process of growing into accepting that we have less energy as we get older and that I can't multitask like I used to. 

For me, I am learning I need to plan out my week a bit better and not have 2 large days of appointments and errands back to back. Some ladies can, but that's not me. 

That is my acceptance journey. Not to compare. I was told by a friend once "the moment you compare yourself to someone else, you have failed.  My journey and my life is not there's, but in comparing I put myself in a failure frame of mind."

The day before this outing I was trying to volunteer setting up for church, this was my first time. Usually I'm in the entrance. As a Deacon's wife people like to visit and check in to share how there family is. 

Since I was doing something else, people got offended that I was seemingly not interested in them. One lady got upset I wasn't giving her a hug and asking about her. Another fellow wanted to share updates of his wife and her illness. I had walked past twice saying "I'll be right back" but I was unable to. And another gal said she needed to talk with me after church and would be outside. She left before I could finish the tasks at hand. It was heartbreaking for me. A friend said "Dee, it's not your gift. Let us take care of this and you visit with the people." That was so helpful.

So this day, my husband said "come on. Get your hiking shoes on and grab a snack we are going for a drive."  I wasn't much in a place or mood to argue.

Here are a few pictures:

Taking a break, on a tiny rock.

A lady walking her dog graciously took our picture. I love bridges! Look at the clouds in the water, so pretty.

It was just enough to shift my frame of mind and I felt so much better. Just admiring how God made all of this, is enough to fill my heart. The massiveness of the sky, the colors. I just get a giggle thinking of how He created these things. 

I love to create, but don't as much as I want to. I am learning about this too. It's vital as a part of they day to have something to look forward to and create or something that brings joy. I just finished weaving a small basket I will share after I get it rimmed and stained. It's cute. I'm a basket weaver but don't do it as much as I used to. Folks here in the southwest like more of the Native American baskets rather than the traditional Colonial kind that I weave. 

I wish you a blessed day. Have you grown to accept the changes in your life and journey?  Do you have gifts that you have recognized and allow others to use their gifts for Him?

Blessings,

Dee

Wishing you a Happy 4th of July

 

Breakfast on the Veranda

I wanted to wish you a blessed and happy (and safe) 4th of July!  We are very dry here in southern Colorado as you can see by our brown yard. It crunches when we walk on it. 

God has all things under His plan, we just need to trust and pray. We have started a 9 day prayer here asking for God to provide moisture, and keep the fire fighters and emergency personnel safe. 

Breakfast Tradition on Saturday's for us is pancakes, bacon (turkey bacon for me). I also enjoy krispy kale, because I eat them for calcium. My husband has become fond of it too, so he always asks for his little bit.

Pancakes for me is a buckwheat pancake sweetened only with a bit of molasses in the batter. I make it Cracker Barrel style since we don't have one of those around here. A bit of pecans hidden in the bottom and a dash of cinnamon in the batter.

Small enough to enjoy, but big on taste!

Blessings.

            

Simple treat to statisfy tastebuds

 Hello Ladies,

Today I wanted to share a simple treat I made up many years ago. About 20 yrs ago when I cut out sugar, gluten and dairy from my diet (before Paleo was even a thing), I was trying to find a way to have an Almond Joy.  

At first I made this with coconut, sunbutter, honey, vanilla, chocolate chips, and a dash of salt. Through the years as I've aged I'm trying to watch my sweets and fat intake so I've adjusted it, and have a smaller portion. 

And just a side note, if I'm really stress or overwhelmed, I might have 2 helpings or bake a recipe I have for chocolate chip cookies for 2. It bakes 4 cookies.

Treats for me are reserved for once a week. I try to keep it to Sunday's as a way to celebrate in an extra way, but usually I have it on Saturday - if I have a treat at all. Sunday's are so busy for us especially with my husband as a Deacon in our church. 

Here is my little recipe for a simple treat to satisfy my tastebuds. Let me know it you try it.  All ingredients are flexible based on your craving or taste:

1 -2 T Rice Krispi's

Large spoonful of Sunbutter (or any kind of nut/seed butter)

Heaping of Chocolate  Chips

A good squirt of honey - for me not too much. Someone made this with Maple syrup, not sure about that taste with this treat.

Dash of salt

Opt. is tiny drop of vanilla

Mix and try not to eat it in 3 bites. 

The basic's and a small dish

  A Simple Treat

                                                                              

I hope you enjoy it. It's easy and I don't have to bake anything, all the more reason to like it.

May Christ's Peace be with you,

Dee

Eating healthy away from home - my mini kitchen

Hello! 

 Is spring getting your allergies stirred up? They sure are here. 

I wanted to share some ideas of how I cook, or keep, our meals as close to what we eat at home when we travel. Not so much for allergies, but for budget and the comfort of home cooked food. 

Don't get me wrong, we eat out. We have date night twice a month that one is at a nice restaurant and one is what we all "low on fundage" restaurant. 

This past week we made a trip out of town for 4 days and stayed in a hotel. The hotel room had what they called a 'wet bar' that had a long counter with a small sink, a micro and a mini refrigerator. This was ideal for meals.  I don't have a microwave at home, so it was a bit of a learning curve.

When we go out of town, whether for camping or a mini trip like this one for 4 days, I always get a plain notebook paper and write out the days with B, L, D and S for snacks. Like this:

Then I write in what we usually eat on a normal weekly menu and decide if I want to prepare that, pre-cook, or change to a simpler version of it. Such as I make my own turkey breakfast sausage and have done so for 20 yrs. Sometimes we pre-cook them and freeze them to take, sometimes I buy cooked chicken sausage. This is the point when I choose to plan that.

Each meal we eat a meat, starch and vegi or 2. I often eat two because I feel better with that. 

When I plan out what we usually eat and make changes for simplifying it helps to keep my peacefulness while away from home. Then I take a separate paper and write out what needs prepped or cooked then plug that into my weekly planning. 

I prep for a trip at least 2 weeks ahead, with 1 week before being the week to make sure I have everything and the last few days are the cooking etc. I pace out everything as I don't have the energy I used to when I was younger, this way I can still keep up with household tasks that need done through the week.

After I have everything and the day arrives, I keep out lunch and put it on the top of the cooler. 

I also have my 'kitchen box' that has the following items (usually) unless I am in the camper. The camper has a kitchen that has the same items at home, easy peasy for me.  

My kitchen box: small bottle of dish soap, plastic scrapper, dishcloth, hand towel, drying towel, paper towels, salt & pepper, toothpicks, lighter, spatula, cooking fork, spoon or 2, a small pairing knife that can be used for all sorts of things, a mini candle (I light them at each dinner to remind us that Christ is the light of our life), a sauce pan, and a skillet - usually my cast iron. Oh, oil. A couple extra baggies or plastic containers for leftovers, and sleeve stays. I don't like my sleeves sliding down when I am cooking and focused.

Often the hotels don't have a kitchen so I set up one. Like this:

This is an electric low volt 2 burner that travels with us when we are in a hotel. I also have a little basket of teas I bring, since we use herbal teas for a variety of things, and the kettle.

This trip, my husband giggled when he saw I packed my apron. :-)  My apron is a signal to my brain "I'm working, need to focus".  Really, it's because I'm so good at getting things on my clothes and my trusty apron cuts down on my laundry. 

I am careful to not but things down the drain, that would not be a good steward of the hotels resources.

I have also learned that anything which may smoke and cause the hotel room to get smokey, sending both of us to open windows and doors and fan the detectors with towels is a no go for planning meals.  

Once. Only once did that happen. I never bring things now that will heat and get smokey. Whew!

I hope this sharing gives ideas of how you can travel and still eat well, and much cheaper than eating out all the time. 

We did eat at Cracker Barrel one day for lunch with friends. eh. I like my cooking, but the company was worth it.

Blessings,

Dee

Lent and signs of Spring

 

photo from Graphics Fairy

We are currently in the Lenten season and my fasting has not gone as I want. Though I hear that's good! Can you believe that?  It's good, because I am learning about myself in this. My will. God's will. My wants and my will are very hard for me to put aside. I often think I am good at this, but I'm going to share - it's not as easy when I say I'm going to give up things that I have used to distract me.

This year I'm trying to limit being online for just random whatever. What I am learning, 2 weeks into Lent, that those random whatever's are distractions from the overwhelm I feel on which project to start on, or just life and aging (you know, all those little things we have to tend to now that fill our time).

To accept the distractions BEFORE I get online is my goal. Then ask "ok, so I want to go look up xyz" Do I need xyz? Is this going to help me grow closer to God? If not, what's the first step in a task I want to get done today? Set the time and do that for 5 min. Go!!!

That's my goal. I'm not perfect, but I am trying to grow closer to the Lord and find the internet as a distraction. It can be a wonderful tool, when I keep it in its place. A tool. 

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

Spring is here in southern Colorado. I saw Ms Robin show up yesterday. She and I have a tussle every year! She tells me she is nesting in my porch lights and I tell her no you are not!  

She even gets lippy with me with a mouth full of mud and sticks. It's very amusing.

Today I heard the Meadowlark out in the pasture. It was so beautiful. Definitely Spring when I hear that. 

We didn't get much snow this winter. Weekly water hauling to keep the trees watered will be a routine for the next several months. My husband gets the water, since the tank is too large for my car to haul, then he hooks up the hose and I move it tree to tree  for 30 min each. 

Seasonal chores here. Along with discussions with Ms Robin. We shall see who wins this battle this year.

Garden planning is under way too. Planting season is usually not until May, we ALWAYS have a hail storm in May. I learned my lesson once, 

Wishing you a blessed Lent. Are you learning anything about you during this time? So grateful for the Lord's patience and Love.

~Dee

Reflections and lessons during Fall prep work

Harvested Sage, last of the season

 As the fall leaves are turning yellow and falling off the trees, I'm turning to my garden to close it down for the season. It reminds me of a time I contemplated the changes in seasons. Fall is the prep time to finish outside chores and necessities before winter.

This prep work, before hunkering down for a few months, is the time God gives me to prepare my heart, to cleanse anything that is not helpful for me or my journey to Him. 

Sage, oregano, and parsley are being harvested as the last of what's growing. With the temperatures in the 20's in the morning, making sure all the wood is stacked and easy to get to is another chore. The fall mum's in pots on my porch will be left as long as they will stand up to the cold.

Morning fires are the norm now though not until after my morning routine of prayers and dressing. Tending to it and keeping an eye on it aren't priority, yet. 

When I am cleaning the garden I feel a sense of gratitude. Remembering all the days I spent watering, hoping, looking to the sky at His vastness in prayer wondering what will grow this year, and what will be 'experience' or learning for next year. 

Colorado has many summers with 'experience' in gardening. Like the year all the plants were stunted to 4 inches until late July. I learned the cold wind that summer kept everything from growing. No harvest was that year. So we put up a fence to block the north wind. 

What keeps me from growing? Lately I am finding I am thinking often about this. Is it the way I speak about others? Is it the way I think, that "I can solve their problems" rather than listening and turning them to the One Who can? Am I finding myself more in a state of frustration and not able to be present to the Lord and listen as I go through my day?

Why is that? What is causing it? 

Often for me, overwhelm and thinking I can do more than is truly possible. This prevents me from staying in a state of peacefulness so I can stay in contact with Him. He is the reason I have my duties and responsibilities, so it is vital for me to learn to listen and follow His lead. 

I'm grateful to be away from the internet for a time. Even these days, my use is limited. I have learned I need to use the internet with intention: make a list of what I need, and always set the timer on the stove (that way I can't just turn it off).

One amazing young lady called the time on the internet mind-numbing time. I don't want that for myself. I want more than that. I want to grow closer to hearing His guidance and I can't do that when my eyes and ears are taking in things that have nothing to do with me or my journey. 

The past few weeks I have also notice the return of clearer thinking, of able to decide things with less stress. There isn't the congestion in my head of all the things I've seen or heard from being online. It's clearer, calmer. 

As I harvested the sage, the refreshing smell of the herb as I cut and hung it lifted my spirits and I couldn't help but get giddy inside. The stickiness of the sage oil to the string, which helps my simple little bow stay in place as it dries. 

Afternoons are sitting in the sun with a jacket and tea, contemplating my day. "From the rising of the sun to the setting, may the name of the Lord be Praised" Ps 113, is my thoughts as I watch the end of the day happenings with wildlife outside. Soon it will be to cold to sit outside, so I am soaking in as much as I can.

What did I do today that would bear fruit for You? What did I say or think that got me on my own wants and will path? What did I learn?  I think that one is the one I am enjoying reflecting on now. Even if what I learned came from a hard lesson. 

What are you preparing your home and heart for as we enter into the late fall/winter season?

Hanging to dry, with a wonderful fragrance.

Nature

 

from braingardening.com

Since the season of Christmas is now officially over, and the new year has come to us, I have been thinking a lot about Nature. 

Nature are many aspects, but the what I've been contemplating on is our nature and also living in the natural rhythms of nature. Today I want to talk about our nature.

I am often found saying "it's just my nature", to be silly or trying to be cute for my husband or even just trying to be organized to stay on top of all the moving pieces of our home. 

"It's just my nature" can also be referred to how we interact with others. 

What if. What if in our journey back to Home (heaven), we are seeking Him and find our nature is not what will actually help us to grow closer to Jesus and ultimately, to live in eternity with Him.

Through the past years, my nature has changed. The health condition I am recovering from has taught me a lot about what my nature has been and how I push myself, or how I 'react' to others rather than 'respond'.

The achiever in me comes from a wound in my childhood that my A was not good enough. This has carried over into my adult life and my home management style, as well as day to day activities. 

Such as, carrying groceries in and needing a drink of water because I have been out in the cold dry wind. "No, I need to get these groceries in first". That has been what my nature has been like. Pushing past what I needed, to meet a goal that is not necessary but rather self-created. Ignoring my own needs for a goal of "first get all the trash, dusting, floor dusted, plants watered and declutter some papers...THEN I can take care of myself (water, snack whatever). Now I see what I need, and taking a break after one or 2 of those. My thinking stays clearer and I have more energy to get through my day. At this stage of life, that is a wonderful benefit!

The idea of looking at my nature and what I chalked up to being my 'normal' has been changed. My nature is changing.

As I've allowed God in my heart in a deeper way and His desire to give Him my heart in a deeper way, I've noticed these types of things about my nature. They keep slowly creeping into my awareness. 

He is like that. Slow, quiet. Allows us to make our own choices or to listen to Him and change. If we plow the field, He WILL show up. He always does when He sees our Trust and our willingness.

I love that about Him.

I want to close with this quote, and contemplating on the idea of what is in our life right now that is burning away the things we don't need anymore. Is it greed, is it a critical tongue, is it the need to always be right, or is it the 'nature' to always put yourself last - even in your needs?

"It is like the way we throw dry wood, green wood, brambles and brushwood on the fire, these materials feed the fire and their nature is changed on account of the action of the fiery furnace!  Jesus acts like that in our souls, if we surrender our being entirely to Him.   ~St Madeleine Sophie Barat"

Wishing you His Peace,

Dee