Mother's Day

Mother's Day and I don't have a good track record. It all began with the years of infertility. In those days it just felt like good sense to stay at home and not go to church. Then POOF! I had a baby and all should have been fixed, but strangely there still lingered a sense of weirdness about the day. This year royally sucked. I basically wept the entire day. To put it simply, I thought I was pregnant; I am not. I found out on Mother's Day. Real fun. Add in a HUGE dose of hormones. Then, of course, my daughter treated me like a pariah and would have nothing to do with me; did I mention I was hormonal? Then speakers and teachers all around decided to focus on those of us who due to circumstances outside of our control, don't really relish the day. Yup...

Thankfully, Heavenly Father sent me a comforting angel in the guise of a woman I hardly knew. She hugged me, told me she loved me and that she would pray for me and best of all, that she would do it without needing to know what was wrong. I cannot describe the relief I felt. So many people asked me what was wrong (I have one of those awful "cry faces" that cannot be hidden) but nobody did was this woman did. I am so grateful.

Farming in April

 Garden in a box! Blueberries, currants and hazelnuts.

Two little quail eggs

April was a busy month for these mini-farmers. We put in a new garden bed and after reading Gaia's Garden decided to improve the backyard based on some of the principles of permaculture: more perennials! We have eggs going into the incubator tomorrow which means that around the 21st of May (my birthday!) we will be expecting chicks. Our six hen's so kindly gave us 120 eggs which amounts to the equivalent of two dozen large chicken eggs. Not bad for our first month.

I can't wait to get my hot weather plants out of my house and into my garden! This year we are planting 34+ varieties of vegetables and herbs, mostly from seed. Every time we go to a hardware store (or anywhere there is a seed display, for that matter) I often walk away with at least one more seed packet. It has become a problem! I don't even want to think about how much money I have spent on seeds this year. Saturday my organic gardening meet-up group is having a seedling swap so I may get to add even more varieties to my tiny patch. Every time I go out to my garden I wonder: "Where can I fit more in?"

In the garden I have french breakfast radishes, baby spinach and lettuce ready to harvest plus dill, thyme, oregano, mint, dill and lovage to use as needed. I really want some parsley. I am planning on keeping track of all I harvest out of our tiny plot because I want to measure how much a very small yard can actually produce. Can it feed our family? I certainly hope so!

Is It Supposed to Feel Like This? Month 6

I feel really great! Well, most days are good and that is a serious improvement! This last month has been tricky trying to adjust to being on GAPS/SCD instead of Bee's diet. I went a bit crazy at first jumping into all the things that I hadn't been allowed before like yogurt, cheese, berries, honey and nuts. Too much, too fast. Now I have slowed down and am working on phase 3/4 of the GAPS Introduction Diet. I keep getting stalled on the dairy and nut flours but I have found that I can tolerate soured raw cream very well and the introduction pancakes. The key is going slowly, adding a little bit more every 2-3 days and paying attention to what my body is telling me.  Healing the gut takes a lot of time and energy on the part of the body and I have to keep reminding myself of that when I get impatient to add another food that I miss.

Adding fermented veggies to every meal makes a HUGE difference and I love them.. I am loving daikon pickles and kimchi especially. As far as fruit goes I am only eating cooked berries at this point because they are easier to digest and don't seem to give me any negative reactions. The only thing I will never add to my version of the GAPS diet is the juicing (because of the candida) and the probiotic BIO-KULT (because it is expensive).

I continue to do weekly enemas which are very helpful along with dry skin brushing. What it comes down to is that I feel really great. I am getting so much done! Every day I am so grateful and full of awe when I think "Oh! So this is how everyone else can do so much!" I feel like every minute of my day is filled to the brim and I am happy. I am no longer looking for excuses not to do things because I feel so tired and achy. Every day is different, and I still get bad days, but they are getting fewer and farther between. Food heals!