Praying For...Tyson...that he will of course be happy, healthy, safe, and feel the love of Jesus Christ. We got new pictures of the children from this family. They are growing up to be strong and beautiful. I pray that designing men will be thwarted in their efforts to dominate the West and its economy with their nutrition and medical misinformation. I pray that this beautiful grandson can grow up in light in truth of the Word of Wisdom and other gospel principles. I pray that the hearts of leaders of nations will soften towards liberty and light. I pray that if only for today the children of the world can fee safety, freedom, and full in the belly.
Jesus Word..."Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul...teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 11:18-19 Full of hope and comfort, this scripture sings to me. Actually, all scripture does that but especially ones about children. I love to read the Holy Scriptures and every time I do. The Spirit starts to whisper in my heart a testimony that they're true. Search," Ponder, and Pray are the things that I must do. The Spirit will guide and deep inside I'll know the scriptures are true."
Cucina Fresca...no, I haven't invented anything new this week either. We continue to eat veggie packed beans and grains dishes with salads and fruit on the side. But....I thought I would relate a conversation I had with one grandchild last time I saw him. The parents were out of town, and I was sitting with them. As usual, I made plant strong food. So we wouldn't have food tantrums, I used my experience in with positive child psychology. The first meal I made was quinoa with black beans, corn, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers, chili powder, cilantro, and hot peppers--sorta Mexi quinoa stew. Anyway, these children had never eaten quinoa. Since the youngest one wants to be a ninja when he grows up, I explained that in South America quinoa was reserved for only Inca Warriors. He wanted to know more. Inca warriors were sort of like Japanese Ninjas. We looked up Japan and South America on a map then made a batch of Inca Warrior Quinoa. Everyone loved it. Two days later, when leftovers were the choice after a long day of museum hopping, the children chimed up for quinoa. Other ninja dishes that made a big splash were Katona Noodle Goulash, Ninja Veggie Sushi, and Sikh Potato Curry. They loved the leftovers for lunch on the weekend. Later, the parents texted for the recipe. But the funny part is this. The third day we were making our third type of Ninja food, when the little boy tilted his head and stated/questioned. So....the only food you can eat is Ninja food? I said, yes, I'm Ninja Nana. I know karate and am going to chop you. Then I proceeded to chase the kids and chop in slow motion. Everyone knows that Nana's move slowly even when they know the best karate moves. It was a hoot. I love little kids.
Garden Gate...I bought a tomato start and several culinary herb starts at the farmer's market yesterday to plant in my attic garden. We plan to bring the garden with us when we leave.
Sound of Music...working on several finger picking patterns for ukulele. As with guitar, I don't enjoy strumming as much as picking. Violin is coming along again. The humidity makes my violin pegs very tight in their tuning holes. Yikes!
Pen and Brush...in the evening before bed when everything slows down, I've found the perfect time to draw and paint. Before I tried to do it in the morning. Interruptions and such made the experience less than relaxing. It's ever so much better than reading the news on the internet. I've come to realize the news will never change as evil in the world builds. It's depressing. So I choose to quickly scan the news for real information, then turn it off and celebrate all the good in the world. People everywhere are mostly good people that sometimes reach out and make a difference. No, humans are not perfect but most of us try to be good and kind. So I create my little bits of art to add beauty of a sort to the world instead of participating in depression and despair of the news and war mongers.
Movement...I think I'm 99% mended. The other day, we took my old and new Macs to the Apple Store to get the data transferred. It took hours. Without anything to occupy our time we walked and walked around the mall. I detest malls. Anyway, I was surprised that the noise and stress didn't make me sick. That's one victory. Although I was pretty sore at the end of the day, I suffered no ill effects the next day. I had energy to go out and work on the farm. That's victory two. Hurray. I am mending. Foam rolling message, yoga/ballet/physical therapy stretching, dumb bell and isometric strengthening, and daily long walks in the forest are doing the job. God sent me here that I might be healed. It's working!
Crowning Glory...a few weeks ago, I went for a hair cut. They cut off about 18 inches when I only wanted a foot. Instead of still long, layered hair that I asked for, I ended up with a shoulder length bob. Oh, well, hair grows. Anyway it gave me a chance to ditch WEN. I loved WEN products for my hair, but somehow they didn't like my scalp. Since I'm allergic to all shampoos, I've gone back to baking soda and vinegar. Before I had to go through a phase of grease ball hair. This time instead of going no-poo it on dirty hair. I started washing it daily on clean hair. After two weeks I slowed this to every other day. Without the grease ball, I was never tempted to go back to WEN. My scalp thanks me as does my pocketbook. I also use less baking soda, diluting it in two cups of water, messaging it into my scalp, and combing it through my hair. It is much less drying than the way I used to do it with dry powder. I still have shiny, bouncy hair and don't spend $100 a month on product. But I won't keep a shoulder length blunt cut. Sure glad my hair grows fast. However it really was a blessing, since it allowed all my new growth to blend in and grow out with my other hair. Oh, yes, the new growth is further proof that my health is back.
