Category Archives: Spiritual

August 22, 2012 · 19:18

Legacy

noun
1 a legacy from a great aunt: bequest, inheritance, heritage, endowment, gift, patrimony, settlement, birthright; formal benefaction.
2 a legacy of the wars: consequence, effect, upshot, spin-off, repercussion, aftermath, by-product, result.

There is more to this than I once thought.   Things.  Money.  The farm.  The company.  All that stuff does mean a hill of beans really.  But not really.  Things, money, the farm, the company have provided us with a lovely full  life and speaking for my three sons, they would like to spend time on the farm long after we are gone.

In the past 10 years or so I have decided that that stuff is not as important as other things.  Things that we can’t necessarily touch or feel.  Our story.  It is the only thing that remains of us truly.    Who we are in our soul.

What about a Spiritual legacy?  That is  important to me.  Passing on  a positive, affirming legacy.   The great news is we  can all do that whether or not we were passed a positive, affirming one.  Whether you know it or not, we are leaving a legacy.  What does yours look like?

Everything we think, say and do contribute to our legacy.

Good or bad,  a heritage is passed on to   us from our  parents.  They were left with a heritage.  Their parents were and so on.  The way our grandparents raised our parents has a huge impact on who we  become.  Knowing what they know, they raise us in accordance.  Realizing the environment certainly has an impact,   I  believe  the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Usually.   We are profoundly affected by their behaviors and history.

How did they treat others?

How  did they express emotions?  With thought?  Or did they just react?

How did they looked at the world?  Did they look at the world with open eyes?  Did they look at the world through a pair of cynical eyes?

Were they racist?  Were they tolerant?

How did they show  anger?  How did they show joy?

Were they faithful to God?  What/who were their idols?  Money?  Power?  Alcohol?  Materialism?  Themselves?

Did they like what they did for a living?  Did they complain about it?  Or was it a positive experience for them?

Were they negative and griping?  Or did they usually find the good?

Were they kind to others?  How so?  Were they giving to the needy?

I think you get the message.

The answers to those and many more questions give us an idea of who we become as adults.  We are “marked”.

So, we are marked.  Or are we?

Just because we are passed something doesn’t mean we have to pass it to our children.    I was passed many wonderful dishes in my day but I  never liked canned spinach  (still don’t).   It  made my stomach turn.   When they  passed the green glob to me, I said, “No, Thank You.”    But I  had to eat it anyway.  But when it came to raising my children,  I chose not to pass them canned spinach.

We have that same prerogative with all the other heritage dishes that are passed our way.

Keep His decrees and command, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time. Deuteronomy 4:40

How do we do it?

We just have to claim it.  It is ours for the taking.  As always, when we pray for something that God is just dying for us to ask for, it comes full on.  We just have to ask for the guidance.

This has become a vital issue for my husband and me.   And as far as I am concerned it is the only issue.   Am I being the  mom, friend, sister, spouse, cousin that God created me to be?  And if I can get to heaven and God says to me, ” Well done my good and faithful servant.”  then I know that I  have left a legacy worthwhile.

It’s all about intentional, prayerful, thoughtful living.

God bless,

Karen

Leave a comment

Filed under Spiritual

August 12, 2012 · 19:33

BIG BIRD Whisperer and Velveeta

I was walking down to feed some guineas this afternoon.   Down in our garden that is about a 10 or more  minute walk.  I know…you don’t have to say it…. my garden should be closer to the house.  If it was, I would miss all the goings on out there.  As I came around a curve a very large bird flew out of the tree line in front of me.  Woah.  It rested on the haystack for a second then flew several feet to a resting spot on the ground.  Two dogs were with me and they ran quickly toward it.  It was a hawk.  A juvenile male Red-tailed Hawk.   This is very unnatural behavior for a hawk to be and stay this close to us nosy creatures.   Our dogs walked right up to it and were literally nose to nose with this guy.   I was then clued in that he must be hurt.

I ran back up to the house to get Pops.  And my camera.  I was not going to let this photo-op slide away from me.  I was just hoping the guy was still going to be there when we got back.  But that would mean he WAS hurt.  He was there.  He was hurt.   And he was a beaut!


I made our son go with us so he could see the cool bird up close.  We see these birds of prey all the time but not a foot away.  Ever.  He said as we approached, “If he doesn’t make it, do you think we could get him stuffed?”   He had just woken from a nap.  Not clear yet.  Funny bird.

This bird  was really defenseless.  He was scared but allowed us to do what we needed to  care for him.   VELVEETA!!!  You gotta love it.  Velveeta is good for many things except human consumption.  I musta been in a total brain fog the day that thing fell into my grocery cart.   Pops tried to hand feed the wild hawk Velveeta.  He wosn’t hungraaay.

I called the state park nearby to see if they could direct us.  They directed us to the “Return to the Wild Ladies”.  Cool.   I called them ladies and they were here in a flash.  They rehabilitate  birds of prey and send them out into the wild.  They will even perform surgery on them.  If they cannot fly they try to locate a nature center for them to live.  If all else fails they have to euthanize them.  Apparently it is against the law to not.  There are lots of laws pertaining to the protection of the wild birds.   Whoda thunk?

Bird lady doing her thang.

Henry the hawk goes bye-bye

Today, before this event, I did not know about this group of ladies.  I think it is awesome that such a thing exists.   Bird Ladies.  Wonderful.  “Feed the birds,  tuppence a bag.  Tuppence.  Tuppence  Tuppence a bag.”

Our world is such a wonderful place.  We all have such unique gifts.  And I thank God that our gifts are as diverse as we are.  We are blessed to be so different.

Pops and my son went on to the golf course.  My son hit a ball across a creek where a hawk dove down and started bouncing up and down on his ball.  Wings flopping up and down trying to kill the thing,  I think.   When they got to the other side of the creek, the hawk flew away with his ball.   What does all this hawk business mean?  Whew.

The weather is awesome by the way.  I hope yours is too.  I got a skip in my giddyup.

God bless,

Karen

1 Comment

Filed under Farm, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

August 8, 2012 · 10:57

Unlearn and Learn

Have you ever wanted something but weren’t willing or wanting to do what it takes to get it?  I find myself in that place now.  I actually wasn’t willing but now I am.   I only became willing when I realized it wasn’t going to just come to me in a dream in the night.   I just don’t want to be patient while I wait.  Or rather work for it.

I have painted in acrylics for 15 years.  I have painted pretty contemporary for 15 years.  When you paint contemporary, to an extent,  you can make up rules.  Maybe not even,”to an extent”.  You CAN forget all the fundamental rules that we learn when we begin to paint.  Values.  Perspective.  Drawing.    I still paid attention to those elements.  Somewhat.  But there was clearly a contemporary bent to them.

“Honor”

“River of Hope”

So, since  I haven’t picked up a paint brush for two years, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out the good ol’ oils again and paint using a more representational approach.  HOLY COW.     I have forgotten how to paint.   I have adopted so many  bad painting habits in the past 15 years.  Especially paint mixing.  I basically did not mix paint.  I’m not sure what I did but it is not translating well in oils.  AT ALL.

But I want it to.

But I don’t want to take the time to do it right.

The past few months I have tried to just FORCE the old habits into my painting.  One disappointment after another.  Well,  maybe if I paint another subject matter it will improve.    It’s like skiing.  I kept thinking that the reason I did not like skiing was the venue was not good.  Like Jackson,  Wyoming??  Colorado?   Come on.   I didn’t want to admit it was that I don’t know what the heck I’m doing.  That is why I don’t like skiing.  That is why I am AFRAID of skiing.    That is why I am afraid of walking into my studio these days or those days for that matter.  I was wingin’ it.    I don’t want to wing it anymore.  I look at  phenomenal  artist’s work all the time.  I want to paint like them.

So, I begin with a color chart.  Of 4 colors.  White.  Black.  Red and Yellow Ochre.  Mixing 120 colors that those 4 colors can make.

Color chart using white, black, red and yellow ochre

Pretty amazing you can get that many colors, huh?  Great exercise.  And I will only use those four colors ’til I get a good grasp.  Only then will I add more colors to my palette.  But still SOOOO much work to be done to GET WHAT I WANT.

I read that it is much better to paint from real life than from photographs.   I have painted from my maniac imagination for the past 15 years.  So, I not only have to mix paint colors accurately but I also at the same time have to look at a real object and interpret the shape, colors, values,  and perspective.  Sounds like chewing gum, walking, milking goats and eating pizza at the same time.  That is how foreign this is to me right now.   I used to know how to do it.  But I forgot.  It is not like riding a bicycle.

BUT…I want to do this right and I will go to any length it will take to get it right.  The easiest thing for me to do would be to walk away from it.  Go milk a goat that I cannot drink from.   Or paint the way I was.  But I feel a strong call from God to do this.  The last thing He wants from me is to “wing” a gift He has given me.   So  I WILL learn it.  Because He wants me to.   And like everything He wants for or from me, the end result is great satisfaction.   It is hugely rewarding and ultimately brings me and others joy.

I’ll let you know how its going.   I hope it doesn’t take the rest of my life to learn how to paint one painting.  But I guess that would be ok too.

The following painter, Anders Zorn,  is the “author” of the 4 color palette.  He has painted many beautiful pieces with just those four colors.

Anders Zorn    ( 1860-1920)

God bless,

Karen

7 Comments

Filed under Art, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

August 6, 2012 · 11:59

Connectivity

When I publish a post, this program congratulates me for getting another one done and then attaches a quote from usually who knows where about writing.

The last post’s quote was:

“To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.”

I like that.  Writing letters seems to have become obsolete.  A very sad thing indeed.  I am reading a book right now that is about letters written by artists to friends or family where they include art sketches within the letter.  This stuff took place from the early 1800’s to mid 1900″s.  Really cool stuff.  In many of  the letters there is a tone of great excitement to be writing the letter or responding to a letter received.  They seem to have been written with such care.  And consideration for the other person.

Most people communicate through emails.  They are not “letters”  most of the time.  It seems to me that email most often is a tool to communicate logistics, plans, or something that is in motion.  It doesn’t seem to me that it is used to communicate on an emotional level really.  Throw facebook and twitter in the mix and what in the world is going on?    There is a lot of it flying back and forth,  but is it improving relationships?  I don’t know.  It seems that communication is going great guns but relationships seem to be suffering.  How can that be?  In the “olden days”  letters were a way of growing and sustaining relationships when we couldn’t be together.

I don’t really know what I am saying here other than it is just different than it used to be.  Right or wrong.  There is a flurry of activity now and I’m not sure what it all means.  Back then letters were far and few between.  We waited for them.  The contents were treasure (usually.  Bad news could come via letters too!).   And receiving one was clearly a gesture of effort.

I used to write letters.  Anyone who received them would agree that I was/am not the best composer of letters in the world.  But they were special.   I have most of  the letters that have been written to me stored away.  They are special.  When we went through my mom and dads stuff when they moved out of their house, we found all the letters that we had written them over the years. Obviously,  they meant something to them too.

What are we saying to people when we email them?  HOW are we saying things?  I realize that all the words we write on paper or computer don’t have to have profound meaning, or care,  but why not?  If we care about the person(s) that we are communicating with then shouldn’t our words be intentional and written with care?  Shouldn’t we use these great tools that we have the privilege of using to grow our relationships rather than simply throw words at each other?  I’m just thinkin’ a little today.

Did you know that the eggs you buy at the store are anywhere from 1 month old to 6 months old?

Did you know that eggs have a natural protective coating on them  that allows the egg to sit at room temperature for up to a year?  Now, that is what I call a great service from our friendly chicken!  If the coating has  been washed off, it needs to be refrigerated and the shelf life is reduced drastically.  Commercial chicken people wash the eggs.

Did you know that the USDA doesn’t require farmers to pasture feed the chickens that produce free range eggs?  Should I repeat that?  Read that statement above again.

It is a glorious day to be alive.

Have a blessed day,

Karen

3 Comments

Filed under Farm, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

July 30, 2012 · 12:28

Diggin’ a Ditch Where Silence Lives…

…Words sung by Dave Matthews.  Those words strike my core.  One of my favorite lines of all time.

 When I started spending a lot of time in my studio about 12 or so years ago, I  thought I was going stir crazy with the isolation.  I would emerge from the dungeon of creativity in late afternoon and be beside myself with the need to communicate.    I really thought that it was a negative.  You don’t understand, I have to be BY MYSELF ALL DAY !!!   is how I felt.  And it was,  as long as I thought of it in those terms.  Isolation.

BUT THEN ……. (I cant figure out how to make my font bigger on this program.  I would like to see those words bigger.)

…. I saw it differently.  I began to study Contemplative prayer.  It is  a type of prayer where you learn to sit in quiet.  And listen.  And learn.

It sounds like meditation.  And it IS a form of.

Wiki’s definition for meditation is:

The term meditation refers to a broad variety of practices (like sports), which range from techniques designed to promote relaxation, contacting spiritual guides, building internal energy (chi, ki, prana, etc.), receiving psychic visions, getting closer to god, seeing past lives, taking astral journeys, and so forth, to more technical exercises targeted at developing compassion, love, patience, generosity, forgiveness and more far-reaching goals such as effortless sustained single-pointed concentration,[3

That is not what I wanted to learn.  That is WAY to broad for me.  Too much wiggle room.  I wanted a tight fit.  My intention was to narrow in on Christian contemplation.  The wiki definition refers to it as a “gaze of faith”  or “a silent love”.  I love that.  A silent love.  Wow.    It also says it is   “the soul’s inward vision and the heart’s simple repose in God.”

So,  in my journey,  I have learned that there is a difference between “isolation”  and “solitude” .  Isolation  can bring about negative feelings and emotions.  It is not intentional state of being.   We get stuck inside ourselves and negative thoughts and feelings swirl around.  It is just the act of being alone.

Solitude can be a rich experience where we empty the contents of our mind that  float around getting clogged and jammed and invite God in to teach us wisdom,  guide us and just simply love us.    But it is an intentional act.  We have to want it.

I am amazed at what difference it makes.  I leave my studio time  with a sense of calm and peace and a feeling of being loved.  It is truly remarkable.

You do not have to be sitting doing nothing to be in contemplative prayer.  You can be doing.  The only requirements are to allow your mind to empty.  And allow God to fill.   Pretty simple, eh?  Not really.  It is hard.  But anything we put our mind to is hard.   Dave’s  song is all about it.  Diggin’  a ditch aint no easy task.

Sometimes it takes A LONG time to quiet ourselves and just be.   We live in a loud,  over stimulated world.  The media and what not want us to be overloaded with “stuff”.   And it is SO easy to invite it all in.  And maybe we don’t want it all in,  but if we sit in its presence its comin’  ready or not.  Unless we get quiet with some solitude.

Also,  since it is a form of prayer  we have the idea that  we should be the ones doin’ all the talking.  Not so.  Speaking for myself,   I need to shut up every now so that I can hear, learn,  and be loved.

So, how can this be done?  It can be done anywhere, anytime.   Turn off external hardware (radio, tv, computer,etc.  It will all be there waiting for you.  And believe me when I say you will not be missing anything).  Invite God to your side.  Then just be.  When your mind wants to go somewhere without you.  Yank it back.    Your plan will suit it better.  Take in the present moment without making a judgement about it.  Look  what is going on outside your car window.  Without making a judgement about it.  Spend the moment NOT MAKING A JUDGEMENT about it.  Just take it in like it is the first time you’ve seen it.  Let your mind slip from that moment into the next and just sit in it keeping it open to hear what He wants you to see, hear and learn.  Without making a judgement about it.

Takes practice.  I hope you’ll give it a try.

It will take you to new heights.

God bless,

Karen

3 Comments

Filed under Art, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 27, 2012 · 10:08

The Ever Lovin’ Tomato

That’s what I call a lovey tomato.

Tomatoes are starting to roll in at a fast clip.  If you are growing them you might concur.     My sister showed up last fall with a colander full of orange cherry tomatoes.  While I dont have any experience really in cherry tomatoes, I did recognize these tasted different.  Like candy.  Truly.  I have never tasted anything like it.   I spent the better part of the winter and early spring researching (I am the queen of research) the origin of these little gobblie things.  The best I could tell, they were Sun Sugar.

Sun Sugar Cherry Tomatoes

I bought 3 plants to fill our tummies and I am going to turn into an acidic something or other if I am not careful.    And while mine are sweet, I am not convinced mine are as sweet as hers.  I am eating probably about 50 a day.  Poppin’ em like sugar.  That is a good way to develop food sensitivities.  Eating too much of one thing.  Like wheat.

I have found SUPER easy ways of preserving tomatoes that are literally as easy as throwing them at the freezer.

Pop whole tomatoes with skins on in gallon freezer bags and throw in freezer for future use.

Sundry them.  Cut them up in half and lay cut side up  on cookie sheet and pop in oven on 200 for about 6 hours.  Until they are leather hard.  Not brittle.  Transfer to zip lock bags.

I do not go through the hassle of peeling my tomatoes.  I’m not sure why people do.  Peels in my sauces have not caused a problem for me or those whom I share with.

Last week I shared with my family a super easy luscious  pasta that went like this:

Pasta from the Shieling

When tomatoes are roasted they sorta have that “tang” of sun-dried but more subtle and yummy with olive oil.

Serves 4.

Cut 6 good-sized tomatoes in chunks and lay on cookie sheet.

Drizzle with generous olive oil.

Sprinkle with generous amount of minced garlic.

sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Roast in oven at 275 for a 2 hours.

Add it to your favorite pasta (Tinkyada is  a hands down wonderful gluten-free pasta.  My people can’t tell the difference.  Give your body a rest from wheat this time.)   doused in olive oil and garnish with chopped fresh basil and shaved parmesan.

Please enjoy!

My neighbor’s horse  going eye to eye with a  monster insect.

Pops and I keep thinking about horses.  We have miles of trails behind our house.  We know they are lots of work,  but what isn’t?  What I don’t want to do is invest in a money pit.  I keep being told that I can’t simply have my horse out on a hitching post and  just get on him whenever I need to move about on our property.  Isn’t that what the cowboys did?  Do you have an opinion on why we shouldn’t?  I would really like to hear.

Have a super blessed day.  You are loved beyond measure.

Karen

3 Comments

Filed under Farm, Food/Recipes, Health/ Nutrition, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 20, 2012 · 11:26

What Hour Trips Your Trigger?

The Witching Hour?   Or the Darkest Hour?   I read that the witching hour is around midnight. When the goblins come out and bad things happen.  The term is supposed to stir anxiety and fear.  I’m thinkin’ that is not the hour that trips my trigger.  There used to be a time when “darkness”  held something desirable for me.  I thought being out in it, milling about with it , was comforting.  I still find it peaceful at times and I love to walk out at night-time and look at the stars and sit around a camp fire but I am not drawn to the dark hours.  Darkness now for me means day is done.  Job well done.  Get cozy between my sheets.

Night Window      Edward Hopper

The Eleventh Hour?  Oooh.  That almost always triggers panic in me.  Getting everything done at that last-minute.

Happy Hour?  Or Cocktail Hour?  Are we only “happy” at cocktail hour?  Just wondering.

Rush Hour?  That is my favorite hour.  (Just kidding.)  But about 10 or 15 years ago I changed my tune about this hour.  It can be used for MAJOR contemplation.  Or clipping my fingernails.  Or plucking my face.  It’s all a part of  that Serenity prayer I spoke about,   “Help me accept the things I can not change”  I have learned since I can’t make those cars get out of my way I can use  that time for myself and sit in it with peace.

Dinner Hour?  Great time.  It is T-bone and Ribeye’s  favorite time for sure.

They like to throw their dinner on their backs. Gee. Maybe we should consider that.

Consider the Golden Hour.  Now THAT really trips my trigger!  Early in the morning when the sun is rising and it causes the dew to glisten on the vegetation and the shadows be long.  The yellow light is falling everywhere.  And in the evening when the light again is making all the colors in nature rich and luscious.  An artists dream.  Landscape painters find the golden hour(s)  to be the quintessential.

My chores lead me to the golden hour in the morning and the evening.  The smells that go along with those hours are earthy, heady and intoxicating.  The sun is warming the earth in the morning or cooling it in the evening and it seems to emit aromas that send me over the edge with delight.

Our pond

Marc Bohne Painting

The Angelus, Jean -Francois Millet, 1857

Enjoy your hour today what ever that may be.  I am nosy.  I would love to know what hour trips your trigger.

God bless,

Karen

5 Comments

Filed under Art, Farm, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

July 18, 2012 · 09:58

Rain and Pickles. Pickles and Rain.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about  the weather.  WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE WEATHER?

We lived in New Orleans for three years in the early 80’s.  Oh my goodness.  If you want to feel oppression at its best (or worst) take a stroll through New Orleans in July or August.  Summer has never held the same meaning for me since those days in the Crescent City.

Ahh, those were the days! Still not sure if they were good days or bad.

I have been running from the sun and humidity ever since.  If there is a shade tree, I will find him and he WILL  become my friend.

Since  we  moved to the farm, I have had to buck up and take the heat.  My chores take me outside throughout the day and I have now decided that 95 is nothing.  Much time has been spent in trying to   convince myself of that.  I have realized that 98-99 is the danger point for my animals so I am pretty calm if it stays under that.

BUT FOR CRYIN” OUT LOUD!!!!

I’m just sayin’.

On a serious note, I look at the country scape, suburban scape, or where ever you have your eyes set right now,  (if you live in the heartland) and I want to weep.  I will accept the 95 degree days if we could just get water to our trees and crops.  In all of my years, I have not witnessed such a sad state of affairs.

What happens when trees totally dry out?  Do they just fall over?  I keep imagining trees falling randomly onto roads and highways.

Where do we get water if our lake source dries up?

What happened to Atlanta when their lake source dried up a couple of years ago?

What is going to happen to our trees that are indigenous to this area when they are no longer capable of surviving?

Are we going to be witness to a severe shift in our environment and ecology?  Our environment may survive this season,  but two seasons in a row?

Am I being paranoid?  Maybe.

We say the Serenity Prayer a lot around here:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

I need to say it more often so that I can stop worrying about things I have no control over.  I obviously think that if I worry enough that it will start raining.   Or worse yet   cynicism  will creep in because I have lost faith that it will ever rain.  That is the worst thing that I could do.  Cynicism is more toxic than worrying.  So, I think I’ll jump back on the saddle and say my Serenity prayer.

Homemade pickles

We have cucumbers coming out of our ears!  Many recipes I have looked at contained sugar.  I did not want to do that.  This recipe is supposedly the same as Bubbies.  Found in grocery stores.  Kind of considered top of the line, old style, wonderful pickles.  My family are pickle snobs so this was/is tricky for me. Ours are done and they taste wonderful.   What is really cool is that it said if I wanted my pickles to keep a crispness crunch to add oak leaves to the jars.  We only have 90 acres of oak trees so it was my pleasure to oblige.   We like crispy pickles.

If you are growing them, please use this recipe.  It is yummy and healthy.  If you are not, buy pickle cucumbers at your farmer’s market and make them.  It is super easy.

If you do not have a lot of experience in fermentation of foods (natural way of preserving food which has been used hundreds of years until we discovered chemicals) it may be scary as it contradicts the way we have been taught to preserve food.  I have been doing it for 7 years and it works.  And not only does it work,  it provides you with naturally grown probiotics which we all need desperately.

Pickles from the Shieling

The following ingredients will fulfill the requirements for a 1/2 gallon ball jar.  Use less if using smaller jars. You may use whole, spears or any cut you would like pickles.

Fill jar with pickles

Add:

3 T. non- iodized sea salt

1 Head of garlic, peeled chopped

1.5 T. whole dill seed

1 T. whole coriander seed

1/2 t. whole mustard seed

1/2 t. whole peppercorns

1/2 t. fennel seed

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1-3 oak or grape leaves

Fill jar with filtered warm water and put lid on.  Shake about to dissolve salt and mix ingredients.  Open jar back up and put a weight of some sort on top of water to keep the cucumbers submerged.  You do not want the pickles to get air during the fermentation process.  You can use  a stone or small tile.  I used two sticks crisscrossed that were wedge into the neck of the jar.  It keeps contents stuck underneath.   Keep a loose seal on jar lid.  Set in nice warm place for 1-4 weeks.  Check after a week and see if they are tasty enough for you.  I kept mine on the shelf for 2 weeks and they were perfect.  Afterwards place them in cool place (refrigerator or cellar) for as long as it takes to eat them.  Once they are done sitting and you put them in fridge it is no longer necessary to keep weight on pickles.  They are self preserved through the fermentation process.  Enjoy!

As I finish this post after starting last night, I’d like to report 1/4 inch of rain.  It was specTACular!

God bless,

Karen

5 Comments

Filed under Farm, Food/Recipes, Health/ Nutrition, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

July 15, 2012 · 21:59

“You Cant Always Get What You Want, But If You Try Sometime

..You just might find, you get what you need.”

Words sung by the beloved Rolling Stones.

Can’t  speak of them without paying homage to them, now can I?

I did not take this photo, although it would have been pretty cool if I had.

Not sure there is anyone out there who hasn’t sung that  tune under their breath at some point or another to themselves or directed at someone else.   I think I walked away from my kids on numerous occasions hummin’ the tune.   It’s easy to sing it about someone else but it stings when you have to sing it to yourself.

There are definitely some things that I want.  I want real bad.  And it has become obvious to me that I (and our society as a whole) have a hard time differentiating between  wants and needs.  I say “need” a lot.    I need to take a shower.  I need new sheets.  I need to eat dessert.  I need to cut the grass. I need to comb my hair.  I need to hem my pants.  I need to buy more spatulas to add to my other 5 because I may need to flip 6 things at once.    These aren’t real needs, are they?   I think we say “need” to convince ourselves of the urgency of our wants.  We learn when we are toddlers to interject  that urgent word to be taken seriously.  I NEEEEEED that cookie!!!!!!

Ok.. So what do I want so badly today?  MILK!!!!!  I know I don’t NEED milk because I have gone 7 years without it and have felt great.  In fact, I have felt better living without it than living with it.  But my mind has convinced me that I need it.  I yearn for it.  The honest truth is I would love a tall glass of cold, cold milk.  I miss it.  And I’d like to see it in my life again.  No big deal.  So why have I gone to such great lengths to touch it to my lips again?  Maybe I’m OCD.  Who knows.

I cannot tolerate cow dairy.   I figured that out 7 years ago.  Felt sick from it for 30 years prior to the discovery.  But, hey, who’s counting?   When we bought the property 5 years ago, I began planning our dairy goat venture.  5 years of research led me down the road to buying 3 goats.  2 does and 1 buck.  I had the set up for many years of milk production to fill my tummy with yummy thick 6.5% butterfat milk.   COULD NOT WAIT.  Got the girls pregnant.  Waited patiently, then impatiently for many more months than it should have taken for these little kiddies to be born.  The day arrived.

I began milking the two does several weeks ago.  Between the two of them I got about 6 ounces.  Ok.  That’s ok, I thought.  We’ll get there.  I brought the milk in, strained it, plunged it in ice water then stuck it in the fridge.  I am a huge advocate of raw milk.  Many medicinal qualities and unbelievable amount of nutrients that are killed through pasteurization.  (I will tell that story another day). I wanted those nutrients.!!!   I wanted my body to feel what it was like to have those intense nutrients.  The milk tasted U.N.B.E.L.I.E.V.A.B.L.E.

Two days into the milking, I began to get the same symptoms that I get with cow milk.  Respiratory infection symptoms.  By the way,  this has nothing to do with raw milk.  I got the same symptoms from pasteurized milk.  There is enough difference in goat milk and cow milk I was hoping that difference was going to be the difference for me.

I have “leaky gut syndrome”  (I know, sounds gross.)  which is where the intestinal wall is weak in some places and undigested proteins from foods leak out into the blood stream and poison the body.  The intestinal wall can heal and people can resume foods but mine must not be healed completely.  And may never.    Lots of foods can do this and manifest itself in many ways in the body creating symptoms of illness that may not seem related to food.  We think that all food problems will only be felt in the stomach.

Our bodies can be compromised and weakened by many things we consume.  Processed foods.  Chemicals.  Alcohol.  Sugar.  Gluten.    And then, if compromised, the foods that can wreak havoc are corn, gluten, dairy, tomatoes, and nuts.  Probably meat for some people.  Things that are more complicated in nature that take extra time,  energy  and enzymes to digest.

So……. I have 6 goats.  And I can’t drink the milk.  Got goats?  Got milk?   Yes.   And since I haven’t gotten more than 6 ounces at a time and everyone else here can drink cow dairy, I am baggin’ the dairy thing.  (I think…)  I am very disappointed as I have spent an enormous amount of time learning, dreaming,  planning, etc.  and I am at a loss.  I feel really sad that I didn’t get what I want.   My plan did not work out.  Maybe I shouldn’t put so much stock into “my” plan.   My warped mind still keeps trying to figure this out.  I think, surely, I can get this thing to work in my favor.  When you spend so much time working toward something it should work, right?  That’s what I think.   But I’m afraid it is not to be.

But I always get what I need.  Thank God for that.

God bless,

Karen

6 Comments

Filed under Farm, Food/Recipes, Health/ Nutrition, Spiritual

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

July 12, 2012 · 21:10

And The Beat Goes On

Pops and I had great discussions last night.  Really touching base for the first time in weeks.  We have had guests almost solid for three weeks.  It has been really great to have spent the time with all that came by but a rest is in store for sure.

One topic of discussion was our anniversary.  Next Tuesday.  30.  Did I just say 30?  I gag when I try to put my name in the same sentence with doing anything for thirty years.   I haven’t even turned thirty yet.

It’s a long, long road.

Most years we take time to reflect on where we’ve been and where we want to go.  I had someone tell me once that doing that is a bunch of ” crap” as they put it.    For us, it is a necessary step to ensure growth.  It is  our intention to live with purpose and thought.   How can we do that if there is no reflection?  Simply existing or wingin’ it is not an option.  There HAS to be more to it than that, right?  I mean, we only get one shot at this, I’m thinkin’.

Marriage is really really REALLY  hard.  To me,  it is hands down the greatest test of perseverance. What in the world can we even compare it to?  When I really think about it it seems really bizarre.  To spend the majority of your life with one person,  fighting all the battles that are laid out before us.   Goodness gracious.  Thank you, God,  for giving me  Pops to be on my team.  I need people on my team.  Don’t you?  Now,  I have wanted to kick him off my team on numerous occasions and I know he has wanted to do the same to me.   But with  work, and I mean WORK, we have come a long way.  We are not above whatever it takes to keep this machine running.

Bridal Compassion, 2003

For me, the most precious thing about marriage is the history that is weaved through time between two people.   My  husband has known my business for the better part of my life.  His eyes have seen the same thing my eyes have seen for thirty years for goodness sakes.  Isn’t that insane?

So, what does this have to do with farming??   Well, it certainly is a part of where we have chosen to go.  Making this decision has added a richness and complexity to our marriage that I would not have imagined.   Challenges and learning new things is a part of our daily life because of this farm and we are not in a stagnant place.  That puts us in an environment that  encourages growth.

What do I want to do or accomplish this next thirty years?

Of course, love him more.  He always wants more, more, more.

1. Figure out a way to get 6 more hours in my day.

2. Sleep.  Sleep a lot.

3. Learn how to give a vaccination to a baby goat without it going limp in a near death state.

4. Learn to like or tolerate male chickens, male goats, or male any animal for that matter.  ugh.

5.  Get my dogs to poop where I want them to.

6. Turn this global warming thing around.  I am close to solving it.  I will let you know when my scientific research is complete.

7. Save all the glorious trees in the world.  Probably should stop building things then, huh?

8. Get my self organized by putting things back where they belong.  huh?  Really?  Did I just say that?

9. Stop cleaning my house as often as I do.  Once a month is too often, people.

10.  Finally, accept myself for who I am.  Sometimes I can’t quite get the hang of living with myself.  I still don’t understand who it is living inside here with me.

I do feel confident that if I set  just one goal for the next thirty years, everything will fall gently into place.  That one goal for me is to grow more holy. Unfortunate things will continue to fall upon us, but with His Grace, the love will persevere.  That,  I am positive.

I want the flowers I grow to be pretty some day. Like these.

God bless,

Karen

.

9 Comments

Filed under Spiritual

Tagged as , , ,