Truth seeker...and continuing the journey

 Farmgirl and KrisAnne Hall

I had a chance to hear KrisAnne Hall speak at a local bookstore a couple of weeks ago...

WHAT a life changing experience.

"KrisAnne  is an attorney and former prosecutor, fired after teaching the Constitution to TEA Party groups - she would not sacrifice liberty for a paycheck. She is a disabled veteran of the US Army, a Russian linguist, a mother, a pastor's wife and a patriot.  She now travels the country and teaches the Constitution and the history that gave us our founding documents.

KrisAnne Hall does not just teach the Constitution, she lays the foundations that show how reliable and relevant our founding documents are today.   

She presents the “genealogy” of the Constitution – the 700 year history and five foundational documents that are the very roots of American Liberty. 

One cannot properly understand or interpret the Constitution without a firm grasp of its very foundation."

I am excited about what I learned that evening...things I had NO idea about.

Stuff I should have known years and years ago.

Stuff we all should know...

As for me...I continue to be a truth seeker.

 Duck eggs!

We are finally getting some raw milk here!

Bought a milk share and along with it have the opportunity get get fresh duck eggs.

Uh, yeah!

These yolks are so huge, you really only need one egg for breakfast.

Huge...and rich.

The yolks are far thicker than even a free ranged chicken egg.

Delicious.

 Sophia

So...we bought two different sizes of cat harnesses....

the small one for Sophia and Fuzzy and the medium for Ollie.

We will be taking the medium one back, and grounding Ollie and Fuzzy from the yard.

They were not in those things more than 10 seconds when they pulled the rope taunt and slipped right out

Sophia remains free to go out (well, as free as the harness will allow)

unless she pulls the same Houdini act as the other two.

Ain't nobody got time for dat.

Herbs...finally

Yes, it is finally spring here....for a little while anyways.

We are expecting frost this weekend..just in time for Mothers Day.

It's all good tho, as I only put in cold hardy herbs, and not very many of those.

LIFE UPDATE:

Life is good.

Still working part time.

City living is better than I could have ever hoped for.

Fun gatherings every 2-3 weeks with our kids here at our little city house.

Visiting with our dear friends Joy and Don in the Chicago burbs next weekend.

Greatly anticipating a week long visit from our oldest and her family the first of July.

Yes...life is good.

Once again I am...

Continuing the journey....with fresh paths.

Loving Jesus, 

Loving people,

Cindy

spring is only a date on the calendar here...

rosemary/nettle shampoo bars in the works 

My dear friend Nicole and I have been soaping!

Well, Nicole has a soaping business, and I have been hangin' with her and getting inspired.

Two weeks ago we worked on a double batch of rosemary/nettle shampoo bars, and i must say...

the house smells heavenly!

Also in the works is a new deodorant recipe we have been tweaking.

I think we almost have it right where we want it...

 Nicole's apothacary

Inspiring!

Nicci likes to work with herbs and natures own ingredients....

clays, teas, and essential oils.

Coincidentally, so do I!

 Motherwort

Yeah...so much for spring here in west Michigan.

Rain, cold, snow, sleet, hail, more rain, more cold..and a itty bitty peek at the sun.

And that was just yesterday.

OK....exaggerating just a teensy bit.

There was actually no hail yesterday.

The rest is all truth.

In spite of that, I went outside yesterday with my camera to see what was what.

Pretty sure this is motherwort.

What I'm not totally sure of is what to do with it.

I mean, I know what it can be used for...

just not sure I'm goin' there.

your guess is as good as mine!

My mystery clump(s)

Scattered through a portion of the back yard are these clumps of somethin' or other.

Definitely not quackgrass or crabgrass.

Perhaps some type of hyacinth?

I guess time will tell, cause I sure as shootin' don't know right now.

Hopefully we will get a glimpse of spring before summer arrives!

Meanwhile, I'll just keep on...

Loving Jesus,

Loving people,

Cindy

Digging deep....and burying myself

Michigan in March...our backyard

Been digging deep into who I am.

Seein' some ugly in there,  for sure.

Crappity crap that comes to the surface when you least expect it.

Gah!

Where did "YOU" come from,  jealousy?

Anger, frustration, irritation...YOU still in there, too?

Bitterness....I thought YOU were long gone.....but no.

All buried deep, but coming up for air like a swimmer gone down too far.

Breaking thru...gulping and gasping.

For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.  O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Romans 7:22-25

Still coming to repentance....and it is good.

Sitting at His feet...

Loving Jesus,

Loving people,

Cindy

Aging gracefully...the year of living dangerously

The year of living dangerously

This year I turn 60.

I can't explain how my insides can feel like I am maybe in my early 20's.

And my outside says "nuh, uh."

I would LOVE to come here and brag about all the wonderful things I have accomplished in my 60 years on this earth.

But...I haven't done all that much to brag about.

Instead, I want to tell ya what I WANT to yet accomplish with the time I have left on this earth.

I have narrowed it down to just two things.

Love Jesus (more)

Love people (more)

That's it.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE.

Loving Jesus,

Loving people,

Cindy

ps...there might not be anything "graceful" about this whole aging thing for me...know what I mean?

Soft as a baby's....

castor and extra virgin olive oils

I have been using coconut oil for years to remove my daily eye make-up and I loved it, but I was never really happy with my whole skin care regime in general.

I have been looking for the perfect method for my skin type, which is dry to normal, and there are myriads of answers out there.

However, wanting to stay as natural as possible without the use of harsh chemicals or unpronounceable lists of ingredients really limits the options!

I kept coming across the "oil cleansing method" also known as OCM.

After reading the comments and testimonies of those who have been using it, I thought I would give it a try.

That was a little over a week ago, and so far I am loving it!

Crunchy Betty's blog has lots to say about it...(along with many others)

http://www.crunchybetty.com/nitty-gritty-on-the-oil-cleansing-method#

The jist of what she says is simple science...

(I have to trust she is telling the truth cause I totally failed "Simple Science" in high school.)

like dissolves like

There are several types of oil that can be used, but since I have an abundance of olive oil in the house, and it is recommended for all skin types, that is what I am using.

The other important oil in the equation is castor oil.

Seems that castor oil is the most effective at cleansing and dissolving the ickies on your face and is highly antibacterial to boot.

It can also be very drying.

 So depending on your own skin type, you can figure out how much of the castor oil is really needed in the "formula" you create.

Since my skin is especially dry in the winter, I went with 1/4 castor oil, to 3/4 olive oil.

So far it seems to be just about right.

I started out making just a small amount....

perhaps just enough for a weeks worth of nightly washings.

I can then adjust the amounts as I see how my skin reacts.

If, after I am finished with my oil cleansing, my skin seems a teensy bit dry, I simply take a couple of drops of my same oil formula, and apply to my dry spots, being careful to rub in gently.

Right now, my skin is soft as a baby's bum.....for real.

From the looks of the comments on Crunchy Betty's blog post (604 comments thus far!), it seems that the OCM is not for everyone.

But I gotta tell ya....

I think I read thru each and every one of them...

and I betcha 90% of those who tried it loved it.

EVEN those with some serious acne issues.

Tell me what ya think....

What skin care regime do you use?

Are you happy with it?

Can you pronounce the ingredients?

If not, then maybe you'd like to give the OCM a try!

Let me know if you do, eh?

Loving Jesus,

Loving people,

Cindy

ps....coconut oil, oddly enough, is not recommended, as it can be very drying...weird, right?

Laundry day...

 Homemade laundry soap

I don't have a heck of a lot of laundry these days, what with the kids all out on their own.

But I still do maybe 4-5 loads a week, and I still use my own homemade laundry soap.

Which I ran out of a couple days ago.

Fortunately, I still had a few bags left in my shop, so I had to open my pretty handmade bag and dig in.

Homemade fabric softener ingredients

And while I was at it, I came across this "recipe" on Pinterest for fabric softener.

Easy peasy, as is most of my homemade stuff....

In a 1 quart size canning jar:

1 TBL alcohol

white vinegar to near the top of the jar

30 drops lavender essential oil

20 drops peppermint essential oil

Cover and shake before using.

To one downy ball add approx. 1/4 cup of softener liquid.

Toss in your washer at the beginning of the load.

Ya know, the essential oils are only there for our pleasure...

 they do nothing to enhance the softening effects of the vinegar, but I add them just the same!

They will leave a very faint fragrance, but not enough to compete with my daily spritz of perfume.

(right now I am partial to an older bottle of Chanel #5....just seems to fit the winter season!)

 Nail studded beams in the basement

I use these to hang Pete's t-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans and sweatpants.

They take up a lot of energy to dry in the electric dryer...and until we can hang outdoors once again without making our way thru snow drifts, this will have to do!

 Mama's old wooden clothes rack

The rest of the laundry goes on the clothes rack, also in the basement.

Everything is pretty much dry within 24 hours, so I just gather 'em up, fold 'em,  and put 'em away!

Really, the only things I toss in the dryer these days are my black work pants and shirt.

And that's only cause I would have to iron 'em if I hung 'em to dry.

And I am not about to iron 'em.

Did you notice all the "em's" in that paragraph?

I just write like I talk, and so there ya go!

bon ami

My favorite "gentle" cleanser

Did you know bon ami means "good friend" in French?

Me neither.

Before going "green" was cool...

Bon Ami.....for over 125 years. 

Loving Jesus,

Loving people,

Cindy

Nourishing Love...

 Tea Time!

I have a neighborhood herbalist friend who gave me her recipe for a nourishing infusion, which I dinked around with just a teensy bit.

Lisa either grows her own plants for this tea, or harvests them locally.

This I know, cause I was with her on a nature walk over a year ago where she taught all about stinging nettle while harvesting for her teas, etc.

An infusion is really meant to be steeped overnight.

But today I was hankerin' for a bit of health and wellness, so just made up a small pot to drink right here and now.

This particular infusion is made up of oatstraw,  red clover, and nettle.

I add a bit of chamomile as I like it that way!

Honey in the raw

I found this large jar of raw, local honey last year at the Trufant flea market for only $5.

I love it...

raw, earthy, gritty...

perfect for my needs.

Just the teensiest bit is all I want.

Loving Jesus.

Loving people.

Cindy