Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Rain, a new video, good food and stitching...

The rain fell last night and we had a most amazing light show from the sky with deep booming thunder as well. When you rely on the wet season to water an ailing garden, and when your town needs more water to top up the dam before the dry season returns, then a good soaking late in January is most welcome, even if it is a couple of months late. Now we pray it keeps coming. Though not as much as last year's wet season floods. 

We water the garden where it needs it a few times a week for about 20 minutes and at the moment that is where my out-of-season tomatoes are bearing fruit. Not a lot of fruit on them and the vines are only small, but considering the extreme heat and humidity which refuses to abate, the little gems deserve some care. 

Sadly, many of the herbs have withered under the stress of heat and even 'dried' in their pots, like this sage which has battled on bravely since the heat set in a few months back...




I've put all the potted plants close together near the garden bed which houses the bird feeder and they get a bit of shade from the taller shrubs around them but it's just scorching outside and too many have burnt up in distress. 
Though I must say the basil, Thai basil and thyme are thriving! 




So last night's downpour was a gift from God and just looking out over the front yard glistening with water droplets this morning filled my heart with sweet delight.




This little old cubby house was a find on Gumtree by my dear husband just after Christmas. It's battered and bruised but give us time and we'll have the prettiest little house for Cully May and Rafaella to play in over the late autumn and winter when our days here are like spring in most areas of the world. 






Today is day seven of the transition to a ovo-vegan diet and it's been wonderful. This morning I 'felt' the difference because the pressure was off my chest and I could breathe a bit better. My heart ultrasound is scheduled for January 30th and I'm so hopeful that over time this change of menu will be exactly what I need to heal my heart.
I've always chosen alternative over medical if I believe there's merit and in this situation I am encouraged by many avenues. Have you ever watched the documentary "Forks Over Knives"? It's on Netflix if you have it (we don't) but we purchased the DVD and have watched it a few times, most recently with a genuine focus on heart health.

Removing dairy is easy as I've been off and on dairy for two decades, always checking if it made a difference to my migraine frequency (it doesn't) and tummy pains (it does)...but now hubby and I will eliminate it permanently. To be honest I was shocked when Mr E told me he was happy to use almond milk in his morning lattes. Bless him! 

A few days ago I made this delicious Cashew Parmesan and it's so good I'd choose it over dairy parmesan any day. My Kitchen Aid whizzed it up very quickly...




There's only four ingredients - raw cashews, nutritional yeast (tastes very cheesy and is super healthy), garlic powder and a little salt.




We had a good serving scattered over vegetable pasta salad that night which was loaded with fresh veg and roasted carrot and beetroot.




A yummy treat are these raw 'Lamington' bars which also whizzed up in the Kitchen Aid in just a few minutes. Pressed into a brownie tin and scored before leaving in the fridge to set, they are yummy and have become our current dessert each night along with a handful of green grapes.




Burgers were on the menu at the weekend and I used what was already on hand to create these morish patties from canned lima beans, sauteed zucchini and onion, garlic, ginger, chopped fresh coriander, a few breadcrumbs and a jolly good dollop of curry paste.




Rolled into patties and browned in a little coconut oil they are very filling and truly addictive.




In my sewing basket is the second version of this year's Block of the Month, Psalm 23.
I'm stitching block 2 at the moment, which I'll share with you on February 1st. 




If you've missed the first block go HERE to download the pattern
The Psalm 23 patterns will be free all year.

NEW PATTERNS

I realised this morning you've not seen the three new patterns for my next Faith In Hand Stitchery Club issue...



If you are like me and love having the Word of God displayed beautifully around your home then you might just like to join myself and the many Club members who each month bring Bible Scriptures, hymns or inspirations to life with needle and thread.

These are the three designs for February.
They will be emailed to all my Club members on January 31st...














Joining the Faith in Hand Club is easy, and you're not locked in to any particular length of time. You can join and leave whenever it suits you because I understand life is never static and your needs or situation can change - and I'll never require you to tell me why you need to leave. Your privacy is important to me.


The previous designs from the December and January issues of Faith in Hand can be purchased  as single patterns in my Etsy Shop.


The birds...

Many of you love seeing photos of the wild birds in our yard so I thought I'd pop a quick little video on YouTube so you could really see and hear them as I do. 




A theme for 2020...

There was a lot on my mind and heart to share with you as this new year began to unfold, but a trip to hospital kind of detoured me for a bit. In coming days I'll be back to blogging regularly as Mr E returns to work for a new school year and the rhythms of home life slip back into their normal ebb and flow.  
Home life...that's so deeply embedded in my thoughts and prayers to write about, and I hope as we journey through 2020 there'll be a lot of encouragement and discussion between us about the joys to be found in the ordinary everyday life of a homemaker. 

Bless you sweet friend, and may the favour of the Lord shower you with every precious kindness from above,

hugs


17 comments:

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

So glad you are doing better Jenny. Gentle hugs!

Beth said...

Thank you for sharing, Jenny. The 'Cup of Kindness' and 'Fullness of Joy' stitcheries are beautiful!

Joanne said...

Hi Jenny,
Thanks for the Pataks Korma paste tip! I can find that name brand here! I'll give those veggie burgers a try!
hugs,
Joanne

Kay said...

I am so glad that you had rain. I am enjoying reading about your change of diet anyhow it is helping you. As a family we are trying to eat less meat and dairy so it is always good to get ideas. x

Karen said...

Yay for rain. I believe some of the areas with fires raging also got a good downpour. So pleased the date is set for your heart test and believing it will be a better result that what some of your doctors think! The burgers sound yummy!

Kaisievic said...

Lovely post, good luck with your new diet.

Tania said...

Hi Jenny, I have been vegan for six years and hubby two years. Hubby had high cholesterol and when he changed his diet the numbers dropped from 9.5 to 4.6. Great news for him as the statin drugs didn't agree with him at all! We gave up dairy ten years ago and love our now healthy lifestyle.

Hope your new diet helps your heart problems, makes you feel better and full of energy.

xTania

Tammy said...

Your birds are amazing.....So pretty and they sound lovely as does your voice. ...I hope your diet changes will greatly help the heart problem....Happy to know your heart test has been set. That is wonderful news in itself.... Love the little play house for the girls that you were able to get...I know you all will do an amazing job with it....The girls are going to adore their play time in it....Oh my...what fun times and adventures they will have in it...Hugs and prayers for you today and each day my friend.

Farm Quilter said...

Oh, the blessing of rain in a parched landscape. You are doing a wonderful job of nurturing your garden. I'm glad the new diet changes are making you feel better. I pray that your doctors will have clear answers for you and that the changes you have made to your lifestyle will be sufficient to keep you healthy and thriving. Thank you for the beautiful patterns...you are making embroidery look so attractive, even though it hurts my hands!!

TerriSue said...

Good morning Jenny, I've been a vegetarian now for 38 years. Haven't kicked the dairy, though I don't use much. Jim used to love to sprinkle Nutritional Yeast on his popcorn. Said it was better than butter. I buy it in bulk I use it so much. A good vegan resource if you can find it is The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook. It was later revised as The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook. They are similar. Even though it says Vegetarian it is Vegan. It was one of my first vegetarian cookbooks and is so worn I have to hold it together with a rubber band.
So glad to hear about the how you are feeling and the rain. The video was so nice and such a pleasure to have a voice to go with the printed word.

Linda said...

I just love birds. I can't imagine how wonderful it would be to have such beautiful birds in your yard every morning! Amazing! Thank you for sharing. :-)

Dots said...

Thought about you Jenny. I was happy to read your post. I pray you have good results with the diet change. I have watched Forks Over Knives on NetFlix. Interesting movie. I watched the juice one, also. The guy had amazing results with it, too. I went on the carnivore diet for about 6 weeks. I lost weight, was never hungry and it was very satisfying. It helped reset my body. I was healthier after coming off of it. It was never a 'forever' way of eating for me.
But I am glad you are feeling results from your food plan. I can't wait to see that play house after it is all fixed up. The girls will love that. I watched the video of the birds and loved that. Yay! You had rain. So glad to hear that. All in all, your garden did pretty well in that heat.
And as always your embroideries are beauties. Scriptures give you a lot to work with. It was great hearing from you, again. God bless. Praying for your health. Take care.

Julie said...

I have been catching up on your posts dear Jenny as I have been down to Mums again as she has been most unwell. I am so sorry to read of your heart troubles my dear friend. I do hope everything gets resolved for you & the vegan diet is helping. Your dishes that you cook & bake always look so delicious. That little cubby house is just gorgeous - I can't wait to see you both put your special touches to it & can just see the wee girls getting so much pleasure from it. Take good care of your sweet self dear Jenny xx

Ondrea said...

Your garden has done surprisingly well considering the harsh weather conditions. Your meals and lamington slice sound and look yummy....recipe for the slice???? The girls are going to love that cubby house and I can just see them having tea parties and putting their dollies to bed. Keep well my lovely.xx

Susan said...

I loved hearing your voice, Jenny. Yes, *loved* it. =) It's as sweet as the birds. Thank you so much for sharing a bit of your back yard morning. That little house for the girls will be so wonderful, and I can only imagine the sanding and painting, the curtains at the windows and other delightful things you two will do to it. I'm SO pleased you have had rain! Several friends have been blessed with it, and I hope the drought will soon be over. We have all kinds of groups, young people a lot, making the pouches for the little animals of Australia. So many of them are homeless, too, now. I read of a wonderful miracle where some animals had gone through wombat burrows and been save underground as fires passed over. It's lovely to hear of God's work with the least of these, too. Your diet doesn't sound like a hardship at all. I hope it is just the natural medicine you need. Love you, dear friend.

Nanna Chel said...

Jenny, it would be wonderful if you could find a way to get rid of those dreadful migraines. I so hope you get some good rain but not as much as last January :-) Love your embroidery but it is too fine for my eyes these days. Big hugs.

Josephine's Girl said...

Hi Jenny! I love your proactive approach to your health issues. Please be careful about coconut oil while alternative health proponents tout is as a healthy oil, my husband and I learned after his quadruple bypass last May that it is higher in saturated fat than butter and is something that should be avoided by cardiac patients. Hope I am not too preachy. Best of luck and blessings.