In the garden

A finished knitted afghan

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Finding Patience

I thought I was a patient person until I became a parent and then I realized I am not as patient as I think I am. These are some things I've learned and for what their worth I'm passing them on. It is alot easier to be patient when I've had enough sleep. It's also easier if I don't have some sort of ache or pain. I do my best to take care myself and when the hard days come I focus only on that day. Forget tomorrow. It's easier to have patience when I submit myself to God. I will do this before I even get out of bed and I will pray throughout the day especially on the ones when I'm struggling. God does meet our needs. It's easier to have patience when I'm not trying to do to much. Days when I am working, then absorbed in chores are more difficult than days when I don't work. Forget multitasking. Give myself extra time for everything. It is important to remind myself that my daughter is not a miniature adult. She needs me to be calm. Being mad teaches my daughter sin but responding in love leads her closer to righteousness. James 1:19-20 "My dear brothers, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for mans anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."
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Nori

We plucked it growing off rocks and I am drying it for us to eat.

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Garlic

So we are on the island with my truck and this is not a good time to need to go to town. There is simply no way of getting there short of asking for a ride from someone or hitch hiking (personally I would go for the latter). I would also have to lug around a car seat for my toddler which I don't even want to consider this nightmare. This is not a good time to get a toothache and that is exactly what has happened. I have tried a variety of things. Salt water rinses, clove oil, sage tea, listerine rinses, oil pulling, but the one that has by far worked The Best is garlic. I brought along some great fresh garlic. It works like a miracle. It's simply a matter of peeling a clove, biting into it to open it up a bit and rubbing it directly on the gum. I never get blisters but if you thought that may be a problem just wrap the clove in gauze before rubbing. Within a minute or two all of the pain is gone for hours. When it does come back again it is simply a matter of repeating the treatment. No wonder so many immigrants brought it with them. Think of it. They chose to carry a tin of garlic over the other stuff they left behind..Now I would to.

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My kitchen counter

This morning I heard a robin singing down by the garden. It means alot to me to be in that moment of transition. I know there is at least one roosting in the cedar tree by the shed. Maybe now there is a pair. My hands are very soft and when I'm doing firewood I'm getting alot of slivers. While one solution may be to wear gloves unless it's cold I prefer to work barehanded. The other solution is to keep going.
Everyday the cabin smells like fresh laundry or baking and often both. One of my kitchen counters is the original cabin door (I love it for its recycling simplicity). I used it as a diaper changing table but when my daughter outgrew it watercolours over the space as I like to stand when I paint. Now that I've got an easel the counter is clear. (The way I Like it.) It is being used again for what it was intended for. My toddler daughter helps me bake. It's really nice to look together through the old windows with their wavy glass and I like the extra light. These windows came from a demolition house in Victoria, B.C. How many generations of women before us looked through these panes? Outside it's been anywhere from plus two to five degrees Celsius. The perfect temperature of a fridge. Yes, that's a hummingbird feeder you see hanging in the window. I'm feeling a little hopeful!
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Hummus from sprouted garbanzos

I am working on learning new ways of preparing low cost nutritious food. In the winter I have the wood stove to cook on but during warmer months I use a propane stove. Making hummus from sprouted garbanzos really makes sense for me especially during the warm months. This is how I make it: I measure 1 cup of garbanzo beans and soak overnight. I rinse them 3 times a day for 3-4 days. When I see a 1/4 " sprout it's time to make hummus. In several small batches I grind them up in the blender adding just enough water to make the blades spin. Each batch gets emptied into a bowl. In one batch I add 1 or 2 garlic cloves. I blend each batch until it is smooth which is about 30 seconds with my blender. After I'm done blending I add the juice of 1/2 of a fresh lemon, 3 Tbsp virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt and salt, coriander and cumin to taste. Delicious!!
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