Today I feel what most people call normal. I’ve spent so many years in my coma with Lyme Disease that I’m not really sure what normal is. But I think what I’m feeling is normal. The past 3 days were not very normal. I’m not sure how most people feel when they go away for some R&R, but for me it’s pretty stressful. I have to pack all our special food and I have to cook it all too. Then I have to come home and unpack it all….so as you can see after some R&R I need some more. And so I spent the last three days trying to get rested and back in the swing.

Thus comes the fact that I forgot to wish all the Moms a Happy Mother’s Day. I in fact did have one. Becca fixed a delicious dinner that fit her culinary experience….steak & french fried potatoes! It’s was delicious and I enjoyed every bite…I threw together a small plate of fresh greens for a salad.

Becca gave me a pair of Crocks in my favorite color and they match the chair in my garden!

Ben gave me a great CD by Hillsong; Hillsong Live, Saviour King! I love it!

Honey and I were craving a berry pie while away, but as you know we have food issues. Also, I’ve avoided sugars of most kinds for the last yr since the Lyme Spirochetes love to feed on it. But I thought I’d splurge for Mother’s Day. I adjusted a recipe for Blueberry Cobbler that I think Martha Stewart created….don’t know for sure…but now it’s my recipe for people with food allergies.

Blueberry Cobbler

Mix together in an 8×8 glass dish.

3 C blueberries (I used our own frozen from last yr)

3 Tbsp Raw Honey

1/3 C Maple Syrup

Cream:

1/2 C Raw Butter

1/2 C Maple Syrup

Beat in:

1 Pastured Egg

1/2 C Maple Syrup

Add to creamed ingredients:

2/3 C Rice Flour

1 C Rolled Oats

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1 Pinch of Salt

Spread over the berry mixture and bake at 375F for 35-40 Minutes. Serve warm with raw cream or raw ice cream…it’s also very good cold!

I of course have a lot to write about since Honey and I were on R&R. So was it???? Well, mostly.

Our Cabin

We Providentially were going to the Shenandoah Valley for a week of rest. Ben announced that he was going on his Appalachian Trail hike for 4 days. That he needed a ride to his launching point. We almost always go the the Maryland mountains; actually WV. But Providentially we were going where he needed to go. We arrived at our site unseen cabin near Bryce Resort in VA (it was ok). We settled in and Ben made himself comfy for the night.

Ben resting before his big adventure!

The next morning Honey and Ben rose early and prepared to head out. I made it out of bed to see my baby boy off……that’s where it ends……he’s not a baby boy any more. He’ll be 20 on Friday, May 16; born at 7:07 weighing in at 7.8 lbs, 21″ long….with a BIG head! We never forget the details, but they change. He’s a man now. He is what John Eldridge calls, “Wild at Heart”. He was born for adventure. He was born to fly. I learned yrs ago (11 yrs) when Becca took her first missions trip with Teen Missions Intl. and spent 5 wks in Mexico, arrows in the hand of a warrior are meant to be released. It’s so painful though….and I usually don’t want to do it. But I must. So, as I released my son and kissed him on the cheek….I rested in the everlasting arms of Jesus. And as I release Becca the day before her 24th birthday to go to Germany for 7 months with YWAM as a photographic missionary, I will be resting as always in the everlasting arms of my Father God.

And He’s off!

Ben’s 30 lb pack….he learned that 30 lbs is too much! He ditched a couple things on the first ascent!

My other man….he spent many a summer at Camp Hemlock Wilderness Camp in WV

He met many wonderful and interesting folks on “the trail”. Honey and I were praying for “angels unaware” to care for him….and guess what they did…they had one “trail angel” show up with a coleman stove and cook pancakes and sausage for everyone at one shelter!!!! God is awesome!!!!

I guess this will be a yr of resting. As I enter that phase of life where I no longer give life, but release it, I must rest. That’s the only way to do this thing called life.

In our little cabin in the woods of VA, there was nothing…no cell phone signal, no TV…nothing….but Honey and I had each other and we enjoyed our time…doing mostly nothing but enjoying the quietness out of the hustle and bustle of the DC area. Ben had to save his charged cell phone in case of an emergency and to call us when he was done and to also call for his pick up ride from his buddy Ryan at VaTech in Blacksburg.

HE MADE IT! Tired and weary….but he made it. During his nights I would be in much prayer….remembering all the scripture I’ve memorized to carry me through the nights of times like this…. When I was prone to worry, I would remember the words of my Saviour. “Peace I leave with you. Not as the world gives, give I to you. Believe in God, believe also in Me.” “Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” “Be anxious for NOTHING, but by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” And the one that really carried me through….”Who by worrying can add a single hr to his life.” “Do not be worried.”

So, I rested. I’ll share the story of the hummingbird sometime soon. But just as a introduction, God once again used this tiny little bird to show me His love the entire time Ben was away. He does care for us.

We were on that first ridge

That one little lamb looks very new to this world

Lots of baby black sheep

The views of the Shenandoah Valley are breath taking, that is if you love peace and quiet like we do. There really wasn’t much to do. We putzed around at Flea Markets but didn’t find any fleas only some fine finds. We visited little towns and bought a couple trinkets. We ate all our meals in because we have tooooo many food issues to eat out. But when you eat fresh farm food like we do…..oh man it was some of my finest cooking if I may say so myself. It’s kinda romantic to eat meals alone on a deck under an umbrella while the hummingbird frequents you and every fly from Va finds your location. Honey and I had some very sweet time together celebrating what God has done in our marriage, family and our lives.

We came upon this old country store with this pump….guess…go ahead and guess….36 9/10 cents!!!

I’d yell for Honey to stop…the views were beautiful!

We spent the last two days with a nice fire…and since I have my own right now…the windows were opened too!!!!!! What a hoot menopause is!!!!

While we were away, it started to rain. Ben was finished with his hike when the big thunderstorm rolled in. It’s really loud when your in the mountains and so close to the heavens. Honey loves thunderstorms. He stood by the deck and watched it closely. He taught me yrs ago to not be afraid of it, but to embrace it’s power and to respect it….I don’t cover my head any more, at least not since children came 24 yrs ago, but I’m not embracing them. It stopped raining for our drive home, but it started again later that day. I think if it doesn’t stop, we may have to buy a couple cows to eat this 5 acres….it’s nearly up to my knees! It may dry out by Wed, and that will be 2 wks since it was last cut….I may not come off the tractor for days….oh my how I don’t like grass….yrs ago, I told a lawn company who was trying to sell me chemicals…yeah right….that I’d rather pour concrete and paint it green than to have more lovely grass to cut….I hate this stuff….oh well. Grin and bear it I must….BUT we are retiring to the woods!!!!!!! Hallelujah!

I’m adding this to a sweater that I knitted while on R&R. I’ll show you when I’m done.

This was just so pretty I had to have it. I’m not sure what I’ll make, but it will be CUTE!

This is some great sock yarn. Becca loves homemade socks….it’s by The Dye Pot, a local gal.

We found a cute little yarn shop; The Fiber Smyth in Woodstock. Honey found out quickly that I love CUTE!

I hope Melinda takes a look at my blog sometime soon, because this is truly my growing challenge; sweet potatoes! I’ve never grown them. I didn’t know what to expect. I am totally out of my element with these babies. We live where the soil is more clay then sand….my folks have sandy soil on the Eastern Shore of MD. But not here. So, Honey built me more boxes as you can see and I used sand, peat and vermiculite for the sweet potatoes…..I know it’s probably not warm enough for them quite yet, BUT they had to go in the ground. Honey and I are taking some R&R. We’re heading to our favorite place on earth; the mountains. In order for everything not to die while I’m gone, I’ve had to get it in the ground. It has a much better chance of survival there with God taking care of it. The neighbor’s oldest daughter is tending to the dogs and the garden, but there’s only so much to ask a person to do. Here’s how it looks……

They’re a little wilted after being transferred to soil….I hope they put on their happy faces….SOON!

They are climbers, so I strung up some twine.

If you’ve read any of my blog, you know how much I love color, and how it’s been a part of my healing from Lymes Disease. I’ve had this old retro chair that I found at a yard sale about 10 yrs ago….it was ugly! Just as a way of measuring my milestones….10 yrs…and I finally got it sanded, primed and painted my favorite color…PINK! I think it adds just the right amount of whimsy to my garden.

I’ll get those two empty beds ready when I get back from R&R. Right now they are growing grass! YUCK! I spent another 4.5 hrs today mowing. I was pretty impressed with my time….I’ve figured out that the fastest way to get it done is in circles! Boy, that’s all I need…more ditzy Di! But today while I was mowing God gave me a little treat….other than finding several ticks crawling….I saw my most prized bird…a Bluebird! I’ve got a box my blind dad built that I need to get up, but that will have to wait. Now, time for some R&R!

I’m being featured on Kelly The Kitchen Kop today with this easy and nourishingly traditional food!

That’s the name my dad gave this great egg dish when I was growing up. Dad was a cook in the Army during the Korean War….I’m not sure if he learned this dish there or if he just made it up. My family has loved it for years and Honey and I just had it the other night for dinner. As you know, I’m an “old” cook, so I rarely measure anything. Please play around with it and adjust as necessary.

Begin by making a white sauce. Due to our many food allergies, I use rice flour.

1/4 C raw butter

1/4 C rice flour

1-2 C raw milk

Melt butter in cast iron skillet. Add flour and cook for a minute or so. Then add 1-2 C raw milk, depending on how thick you like it. You can always add as you go along….but you can’t take out! Stir the milk in with a wisk and heat until thick, but not too thick. Salt & pepper as desired.

8-12 eggs hardboiled

Shell and separate the yolks from the whites. Chop the whites and add to white sauce. Mash the yolks in a bowl. Serve over toast of choice by pouring white sauce and egg over toast and topping with the mashed yolk…..if you like it fancy….add a dash of paprika!

As a side note to the taste test….these bars are very soft. I think the next time, I’d add more coconut and cereal…they might work better as balls….and oh, yes, less rice syrup! They are extremely sweet. So, if you’d like, play around with it at your own risk…this is a real test kitchen for my experiments!

Our 19 year old son is venturing out to hike the Appalachian Trail for 3 days. We’ll drive him within 60 miles of VaTech and his buddies will pick him up there. This is no normal hike. Our son has chronic lyme disease and hasn’t been doing very well, but he says he HAS to do this. From all the reading and listening to experts in the field of boys and men, I’m sure this is his rite of passage. From boyhood to manhood. He will be 20 on May 16. This is something he NEEDS to do. Perhaps to smack this disease right in the face and yell; “YOU CAN’T HAVE ME!” I’ve done that many of days….yelled that is. I’ve yelled at the author of disease and sickness and claimed that he, Satan, cannot have us. We are God’s precious children and His alone. If you think of it pray for Ben on May 3-6! He will need the power of God to hike those Virginia mountains!

I found a wonderful recipe that will give Ben energy while hiking. It’s got lots of carbs and protein and I even tried to make it as Nourishingly Traditional as possible. I found it on 101 Cookbooks. So along with his beef jerky, tuna, trail mix and whatever else he has weight for, he’ll have some yummy power bars!

Power Bars

by Heidi at 101 Cookbooks

(I altered it some)

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

2 C pecans & walnuts chopped (I made them crispy nuts from Nourishing Traditions)

2/3 C unsweetened shredded coconut

1 1/4 C rolled oats

1 1/2 C unsweetened brown rice crispy cereal

1 C brown rice syrup

1/4 C Turanado Sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp finely ground coffee

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Grease a 8×8 or 9×13 pan with the coconut oil, set aside. Toast the nuts if you didn’t make crispy nuts and the coconut in a 350F oven for a few minutes. In large bowl mix the coconut, nuts, rice crispy cereal and oats. Stir together. In a saucepan combine, rice syrup, sugar, salt, coffee and vanilla. Cook over med heat constantly until it starts to thicken and comes to a boil…about 4 minutes. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread in the greased pan and allow to cool at room temp. Cut when cooled into bars.

I test tasted them before they were completely cool and they are really sweet and yummy! Not something I’d eat on a regular basis, but a good energy bar for Ben on his adventure.

I just had to share this precious picture I took of Mama and Baby Lambie.

~~~~

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

FOREVER.”

~Psalm 23~

NIV

I’m not really sure what week I’m suppose to be on with The Growing Challenge, but I sure have been motivated and busy. I’ve actually been so busy I haven’t had time to blog. Wow! That’s truly amazing and truly a miracle! God has been blessing me with absolute, divine health and every day I’m truly grateful.

This morning I was awake with the dawn…however I didn’t rise until nearly an hour later….Oh the life of an empty nester!!! During these years of resting, I’ve learned to do just that; rest. What’s the hurry? We live in such a fast paced society just outside of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Even the slow lane is fast. So, when I can, I rest….BUT today was not a day of rest….thank goodness tomorrow IS!

I pulled weeds in my garden and went to our local garden store. I bought lots of herbs that I couldn’t grow from seed and a few annuals for potting. I’m really very much a perennial girl. I prefer plants that can stand on their own once they get established. It’s that leaky memory I have and if I have to water it then it usually dies. Honey finished the two boxes that he started lasts weekend before he had his little accident. Thank God, his eye is fine and he hasn’t given it any thought. In my quest to make room for the two boxes I decided to push the fence back further for…..well….. two more!!!! Honey built them without my even asking. So, now I have to fill them with dirt and get them planted in a snap. I got the sweet potato boxes filled with peat, sand & vermiculite. Hopefully they will be happy there. I still need to put in a couple posts and string them up for the vines to climb. BUT for today, I’m finished, I’m exhausted and it feels soooo GOOD!

I planted 100 onion & leeks

onions & leeks

My kitchen garden of herbs

Borage & Basil seedlings….not too big yet

new annuals to plant

lots of new herbs to use as medicinal and culinary, not to mention beauty

I was awake again this AM at 2:30. Nothing really troubling me, just those menopausal hormones or should I say lack there of. But as I reflected on the weekend, I almost started laughing out loud. PEACE. PEACEFUL ACRES!!!!!! LOL! How many of us truly have peace? How many of us truly want peace? I’d say, mostly all of us want it and very few of us have it. I guess God knew that I would need to hear a short message yesterday morning by Kay Arthur at Precept Ministries. She is one of the best Bible teachers I know of. So because of a conversation with our 20 yr old son Sat night, I decided I needed to listen to “Resurrection Peace that Gives us Hope”. One point that stuck with me from John 20, was that when Mary went to the tomb looking for the crucified Christ….she was looking for him dead. He was not dead, but resurrected. How many of us are looking for a crucified Christ. I guess that is also why I don’t wear a crucifix. The Christ I worship is RESURRECTED! So, I look for the living Christ and I’ve found him.

In this passage of John 20, Christ who is resurrected goes to the Disciples who are locked up in a room hoping the Jews don’t search for them to also crucify. The risen Christ comes to them and the first words recorded that he says are, “Peace be with you.” He had to say it again. “Peace be with you.”

It was that peace I needed yesterday and Saturday night. I can’t go into details but our son is sick with Lyme Disease and it’s many co-infections and it’s eating his brain up pretty badly. I’ve had it do that so I know what he’s feeling. That’s not what he wants to hear though. He talked about the feelings of depression and desperation he’s having. At least he’s talking. But when you love someone, as Honey has loved me through all this, it breaks your heart. So, we of course went to the ONE who can give us peace and will ultimately bring healing.

Then on Sunday afternoon about 4:30. Honey was working on my last little raised bed for my monster sweet potatoes and he accidentally knocked a can of brake cleaner off the shelf in the shed. When it fell unbeknown st to him, the can was punctured. He didn’t realize that and picked it up. It was spraying all over him, and it went in his eye. He ran in the house like a mad man and was ripping his clothes off and jumped in the shower. I was a wreck! In my crying, I just kept asking if he could see….all I could think of is him not ever being able to look at me again. You see Honey loves to look at me…he loves to look into my blue eyes and he loves it when they smile. That’s all I could think about.

He told me he could see but he didn’t know where his wedding ring was. When he flung his clothes off coming through the basement his ring went flying. So, I was down in the basement crying out to Abba God, my Daddy. As I sat on the weight bench crying, HE said to me, “PEACE”. I said, “yes, Lord. You are faithful and Your mercies are new EVERY morning. GREAT is YOUR FAITHFULNESS”. I looked over and on the floor was Honey’s wedding ring; his favorite possession.

I instantly got online and looked up “chemicals in the eyes”. The advice was to rinse the eye for 20 minutes. So I advised Honey to do so. Then I called the Doctor, which Honey said not to do….but online it said to do that. Finally the doctor told Honey who was doing very well, to call Poison Control with the info off the can. By this time it’s been an hour and Honey’s eye is doing fine….a little irritation, but no vision problem or damage. As he’s reading the info to Poison Control, I’m googling it and as he writes on his pad, “NO TISSUE DAMAGE”, I’ve also come to that understanding.

So, we thank you LORD, for your loving kindnesses, which are new every morning.

“Peace be with you!”

~JESUS~

Vines everywhere

I just had to show off my sweet potatoes one more time before I plant them. I’m amazed. I had no idea what I was doing, but it worked! For those of you who were in my shoes a month or so ago, sit back and enjoy. I’ll try to give you steps so when it’s your turn you’ll be able to answer intelligently what a slip is….clue it’s not ladies underwear!!!!

Sweet Potato with Slips (roots are growing from slips)

Sweet Potato without slips

Naked Sweet Potato after Slips were pulled Off

Slip with roots

That’s it in a nut shell. Now I’ll move on to another challenge. This was a good one! Hopefully these babies will be in warm soil this weekend!

Wow, you’ll never know how much I am enjoying being “fully alive”….an old theologian said once, “God’s glory is man fully alive”. I know what that means, on both a spiritual level and a physical level. I often say, that I’ve finally come out of my coma and I’m lovin it!

During this time of great sickness with Lyme Disease & Company, I’ve drawn nearer and nearer to the only One who can heal me. I’ve drawn my very breath from Him, my Great Jehovah, my Abba, my Daddy; GOD. When life seemed like it wasn’t worth living, He gave me a reason every day. He lifted me from the miry pit and set my feet upon a ROCK. Oh, and He put a new song in my mouth….a hymn of praise to my God!

My Mowed Field

I didn’t realize what a gloriously beautiful day it truly was….look at that blue sky!

Today, my plate was full again, just the way I like it!!! I’ve had plenty of empty plate days, resting, waiting, resting. This AM I decided that I ought to mow the field again. I mowed it down last Friday for the first time in probably 15 yrs. Yeah, lots of blackberry bramble, thistle, milkweed and multaflora rose. Lots of tall prairie grass and lots of new trees that weren’t there 22 yrs ago when we built here. It was kinda fun to see all the changes, except for the neighbors dumping their rubbish! But, even so, it’s good to have that job done….now to maintain it. It took me 3 hrs to mow it down on Friday. I mowed again so early because, well, that pesky poison ivy found me….I was covered except for my neck! Yep, it found me. So, today as I’m healing again from that plague, I decided that while it was still cool and even rather cold, I could bundle up so much that maybe the poison ivy wouldn’t know I was in all that cover up! I had every part of me covered except for my face….I didn’t want the neighbors calling the guys in the white coats. It only took 2 hrs today to get it done. I accomplished a little more blackberry bramble, however, I want to leave some so I can pick some wonderful wild blackberries this summer. Now I have 4.75 acres to cut every week. That ought to take an entire day…oh, except for the land the house sits on…so that ought to be 4.5 acres…I don’t know.

On this beautiful morning that I was glad to be alive, I did a load of laundry and put it on my new solar dryer! We went gas about 9 yrs ago when gas was cheaper then electric. But now, well, does it really matter. Both are sky rocketing out of control, so I went solar! Because my back isn’t what it used to be at 30, I put my solar dryers on the deck where I can access them easier. Don’t laugh at them, they were really rather inexpensive. I got them at IKEA for $15 a piece, not bad for solar! I also did 3 other loads due to the poison ivy and used the conventional gas dryer so the heat would kill any oils on the clothes and sheets.

I also made 2 more batches of herbal infusions for salves later. And I played with my Kombucha Scoby. Hang on to your hat! This scoby is a monster….I think I see a pattern here…monster sweet potatoes and monster scobies. I’ve been doing a continuous brew in a 2.8 gallon cookie jar. I dip out what I want each day and then add more tea mixture when it’s needed. It’s easy and look at what I grew!

Scoby in jar with KT

NO it’s not a birthday cake!

Original Mother laying on the bottom of all those babies! Amazing!

Tonights an embryonic chicken night…yep, good old eggs. These are no average eggs though, they are soy free because my loving husband is allergic to soy. Besides it’s not very good for us. It’s mostly GMO now and too many folks are allergic. Actually my Honey is allergic to Tyramine, an amino acid. It gives him terrible migraines….so no more Tyramine in this house, at least not for Honey. Oh, right, our soy free eggs come from Sycamore Spring Farm.