Settling into bread rhythms, and part 1 of Abigail...

For many years I have chased the elusive perfect sourdough bread recipe. I remember my first attempt back in 2000, visiting a homeschool friend with the children. Her family had moved over from Sweden and she had quite an alternative lifestyle, and I'd never met anyone like her before. Apart from the children always barefoot, their beds made out of trees her husband had felled from their backyard, a swing in the bedroom made from  more trees, completely 'unstructured unschooling', and all her shelves full of alternative medicines, tinctures and salves etc, she could do the most amazing things with sourdough. 

We had not long begun homeschooling our 6 and 7yo children, having previously homeschooled Kezzie for a year in high school, and were still in the workbook mindset (though we soon switched to Charlotte Mason and never looked back) when we met this family, and it was through the mum, who became a really good friend, that my interest in natural health began, most noticeably at first with the everyday food choices we made. 

For a few years I made my sourdough, lentil patties, and hummus, exactly the same way my friend taught me, and we juiced every single day, but then we moved away to another state in January 2003, and I soon began playing around with different recipes and ideas. 

Bread became my focus, but not sourdough. I loved kneading and folding and creating all sorts of loaves by hand, and my family loved it all. It didn't matter that we had to move into a tiny one bedroom cabin atop a freezing mountain range for six months in 2005 - there was a small oven so I could still make bread every day. To be honest, the children have always agreed that those six months in 2005 were the best years of their childhood. But back to sourdough...

Off and on for the next few years, I would dabble with sourdough, but would then go back to regular bread baking, trying other things like focaccia, wholegrains, cinnamon scrolls, pita bread, pumpernickel, jam rolls or fruit loaves, until I perfected them and knew the recipe would stay the same for the rest of my life.

Around 2013 I was baking sourdough again, every second day, but with a cheat. I'd use my starter, but also add some instant yeast, so that I could rise the dough in 90 minutes and bake bread immediately after. It was still good, not as sour, but a cheat nonetheless. 

I fell off the wagon again the following year, and went back to regular bread baking, or buying ready baked loaves. My stitchery club had taken off and so I had less time to work in the kitchen. By dropping sourdough I could focus on making healthy meals instead, and back to daily juicing. 

Since we bought this house and moved in just over seven years ago, I have gone back and forth with sourdough recipes, as the internet is swarming with them, the library has an entire shelf of sourdough cookbooks, and YouTube virtually overflows with sourdough aficionados! Which is why I was going back and forth - try one way, give up. Try another, not too bad, but next loaf fails, try another, doesn't work in my climate...and you get the picture. 

And then seven months ago I read about the old way, the original way, the NON-artisan way, to regularly bake a loaf of sourdough. Then I found someone on YouTube who tried the old way and succeeded...definitely intrigued me. But then the knee issue, the arm issue, and generally no interest in anything other than baking regular loaves of bread every few days, or opting for a store bought. 

But last week. Aha. Someone in Alaska, living off grid with her family, shared how she made her sourdough bread the way they did 100 years ago, in a day, with no weighing, no frills, just basic steps and a great loaf at the end. 

I thought, no way...this won't work for me because she's off grid in snow laden Alaska, and I'm in a monsoonal hot and humid wet season in the tropics! But you know, I was intrigued. So I gave it a go. And it worked. I have never known such an easy sourdough recipe, and not one that you could make and bake the same day. 

You can see how big my loaf was in the photos above. I used half white bread flour, and half freshly milled spelt grain flour, and the sour dough starter in my fridge from three weeks ago. Truly, the size of the loaf and how quickly it rose that morning surprised me. Then to have it rise again in the dutch oven (we have a small one, too small for a loaf obviously, so now I need a larger one, or make smaller loaves) and be so delicious that hubby and I were spreading the butter and homemade apricot jam on for dinner last night, well - and so this is that one sourdough, that best recipe/technique I have been waiting for since 2000. And it's a keeper.

Now this lady spends a lot of the video showing you how to make a starter over seven days, but as I always have a starter in my fridge that I feed every few weeks and which bubbles up within an hour of being on the table in the warm air of our home, I fast forwarded through that and went straight to what she did on the day she baked her loaf. 

If you're interested in watching the video, it's here...

...and my husband found this one last night about the history of sourdough and why it was so healthy for people in the Middle Ages. Fascinating! My husband has always loved my bread, but now he's wanting a sourdough loaf to be our everyday loaf. Bless him!

ABIGAIL STUDY - part one:

I shared the first part of the Abigail Bible Study today, and if you pop over HERE to the study page you can read through on the page or download the PDF to your computer files. 

Love to hear your own thoughts, and thanks to everyone who is joining in because we can learn a lot from each other's insights along the way. 

Tuesdays with the Family...

Every Tuesday Blossom and the children come over for the day. We have the very best of times with a special morning tea, and lunch, and plenty of activities to do inside (the monsoon has been endless). Blossom coloured this for me last week, and now I want to find a frame for it. Love my girl so much.

Whether it be scones with jam and cream, and bowls of fruit, or the table spread with ingredients for the kids to make their own pizzas, nobody goes home hungry from Nana's house. In fact there are always leftovers to take home for daddy Ross. 

This Tuesday they got some of my huge blankets and spread them across dining chairs and couches to make a cubby, before dividing it all into two cubbies so they could be neighbours. Charlie broke his arm on Boxing Day, for the second time in a year, but nothing slows him down! We're pretty sure he'll grow up to be the next Bear Grylls. ;-)

Before I go, when I shared the last post and the photo of my basket of UFOs and kits for the Adventure 2026 project, I forgot to show the gift hubby got me for Christmas. 

Sheepie. 

We don't bother with big gifts, and some years no gifts at all, but he knows how much I love farm animals and thought I'd like a sheep for the garden. I love my sheepie!! But he's not going in the garden. He sits on my desk and I talk to him as though he's real. I cannot express just how much I love my husband. He's a gift from God everyday. 

Oh, another before I go...you know the huge poincianna that almost killed my husband when it split and came down twice last February? 

He chopped the remains and we were not sure whether to plant another or not. Well, God answered us in the middle of 2025. A new tree sprung up right beside the trunk of the other one - and this came up from a seed, not from the trunk. 

In just six months it is at least 14 feet tall!

I can stand under it and the top of my head just touches the bottom branch. Amazing! With all this rain, and the wet season still in the early days, I think by mid year it will already be huge. 

God bless you all, and thanks for hanging in here today. I have to sign off and go feed the pets as they are letting me know it's getting late. 

May you be blessed in all you do for your family and home...whether that be baking bread, cooking a meal, washing the dishes, mopping the floor, or tending a loved one who is unwell. God sees those little things too, not just the big things. His eyes is on the sparrow, and He's watching over you. xxx

The 2026 Adventure...

 

Happy New Year dear friends! 

I pray 2026 is a year that grows us in the best of ways, and that by year's end we can look back and be satisfied with how far we have come in our walk with Jesus, and our God-gifted roles within home and family. 

I pray also for our sensibility to keep what is important, enjoyed or needful, whilst having the wisdom to remove what is not. My personal plan through 2026 is to take a spiritual broom, and a physical one, in order to spring clean my life from the inside out, carrying forth only those things that have purpose, delight, and glorify the Lord. 

The 2026 Adventure:

At the top of this post you will have seen a new button for 2026, one which I'll add to Adventure 2026 blog posts throughout the year. In previous years I have shared my dislike for NY's resolutions, and that has not changed. One thing of which I am sure, is that life rarely stays the same, and the older I get the more changes occur with each passing year.

This 2026 Adventure challenge is something productive for us to have fun with, and can be easily altered to suit changing circumstances should they occur as the months go by. I hope you'll join in?

Using what we already have on hand has been a huge decision at the back of my mind since 2019 when the Lord laid those very words on my heart and engraved them well so I'd not forget. 

Choosing the next project, whether that be with regards to sewing, organising the home, cleaning out the pantry, planting a garden, or reading a book, we can first of all look at what we already have. 

In essence, to "use what we already have" means spending nothing (or very little) to achieve a desired outcome, and that's high on my agenda in 2026. As I am now able to sew again (update is further down), I made the decision to have a year long sewing adventure that will not cost me anything but my creative time.

Between Christmas and New Year I went through my sewing room and gathered all my UFO projects together, then all the kits which had been purchased over the past decade and never opened, plus a lovely wool felt kit I won back in 2008 and never made. It would be easy to become quite overwhelmed when all of these things are stacked on the cutting table, but I got quite excited. Being mindful of not burdening myself unnecessarily, I chose eight unfinished projects or unopened kits, and packed them into the bag below.

I am still to choose another four, but that won't be difficult. I should acknowledge that having been dedicated to designing for seventeen years, I don't have an enormous stash of projects and kits yet to make or complete, but I certainly have enough to work on much longer than a year.

Having finally retired from designing last year, there was a great peace in my heart about no longer having to create new embroideries or projects and I actually lay down my embroidery needle for many, many months. After my knee injury in mid-July I rekindled a love for knitting, but then the nerve problem with my arm and hand left me unable to craft anything at all for the last three months. But let's just run forward a bit...

HEALTH UPDATE - I have full health in my arm and hand now! After all the different diagnoses and tests and medications, the actual culprit was a medication I take every year from spring through to early autumn (from September to April here in Australia) as a migraine preventative. The last two years I noticed it gave me a slight tingling in the little finger of my right hand, but that's all. It genuinely helped enormously with stemming the amount of baromtetric migraines during the hot and humid wet season here in the tropics so I was fine with that tingling finger. 

But this past September I had a very different issue, with severe nerve pain in my left arm and hand - which I never even associated with the migraine preventative drug. My doctor was great through this, trying everything he could think of to avoid surgery in my arm, and following up on every possible cause or condition, yet all didn't seem right...and then one day in mid December I wondered about that drug, and how this all began when I started taking it as usual in mid September. It's a strong medication (amitriptyline), and I only ever take a low dose as I am highly sensitive to all prescription meds, so to test the theory I weaned off it over two weeks, the same way I always do at the end of each migraine season. The less I took, the more feeling came back in my hand and the less nerve pain in my arm. Within two days of taking that final tiny dose after Christmas, I had full pain-free use of my arm and hand again. Those pills were thrown down the sink and I will never be able to take them again. And I am rejoicing over that!! So thank you for all your prayers - they indeed were heard by the Lord, and He led me to healing. 

Back to the Adventure Challenge...

Here's what I thought you may enjoy doing with me through 2026 -

*   Place all your UFO projects together

*   Place all your unmade/unopened kits together

*   Choose 12 kits or UFO projects that excite you, ones you'd enjoy making or completing

*   Donate or sell any kits or UFO projects you no longer like or want

For myself, as well as those of you who would like to join in, there's one major stipulation for this Adventure to work as it should. 

We must ENJOY it. 

It must never become a rigid programme we feel obligated to stay on when life is calling us elsewhere, when illness holds us back, or when we lose the joy. By choosing your twelve UFO projects or kits, you have made a choice to complete what you started, or use what you purchased, and even if you only achieve six finishes in 2026, that's success and I hope you'll feel a rush of personal satisfaction by year's end. By using up what we already have, we who love to create can complete projects that will cost us nothing but time. As I have the projects and kits on hand to use, I will not be straining our tight budget by buying anything, and can simply enjoy time given to sewing.

Each month I will show you the project or kit I intend to work on, and some progress pics along the way. Some of you may have a very large UFO or kit, one that requires more than a month to complete, and I actually have a quilt kit that will need time, but what I intend doing is working on that when my allocated monthly project is done. This way I can probably get a good deal of it done across 2026, but I am not bothered if that particular project runs into next year as well. 

Let me know in the comments if you're joining in, and also what UFO projects or kits you're excited to finish or make. 

Now I should show you what I have chosen for January...

One is a UFO hand embroidery finish from early last year and only has a small corner to be completed, which is why I have chosen it first, and I'll explain more in a minute...

I think this can be finished in a few days, and that brings me JOY! Then at last it can be framed and hung in the living room. 

Now the reason I chose that Japanese hand embroidery for January was because as a quick finish, it will allow me time to cut all the fabrics from the large quilt kit that I will work on all year when smaller monthly projects give me a week or two to spare. 

The quilt is called "Dutch Darning Sampler Coverlet" by Judy Newman, and I loved it the first time I lay eyes on it. For many months I ummed and aaahed about buying the kit, and eventually purchased it in 2024. The fabrics in the kit are gorgeous, and that centre block is actually done in cross stitch. Just the thought of starting on this project brings me JOY. 

For those in Australia who may want to know, I bought the kit HERE and I think it's still the same price I paid back in 2024. 

The ABIGAIL Bible Study

So, now we have the Adventure explained, I wanted to let you know that I have set up a special page on the blog for the Abigail Bible Study, and it is HERE.

I've written the intro there, and will begin the actual study next week. All the notes will be there as I write them during the duration of the study, which will take a few months, so if you miss any sections you only have to go to the Abigail page and scroll down, as everything will be there in order. 

There's a button in the blog sidebar as well, if you lose the link. I'm very humbled to learn with you as we dig deep and glean from the life of this remarkable woman. 

God bless each and every one of you, and no matter what work the Lord puts your hands to this year, may it glorify Him and bring you joy. I have many plans for homemaking in 2026, but am open to the Lord changing them if it be His will. 

Really, all we need follow is His will, then we can be assured of not straying from the right path. 

"and make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

Until next week, 

The recipe, preserving, and a Christ-mas devotional...

 

As so many of you asked for this recipe I have it all prepared for you today as an easy download. One thing I would like to remind those of you who make this bread, is that it is made from 100% wholemeal spelt flour, not white spelt or a refined version. I buy spelt grains and mill them myself, or when I run out of grains I have a supply in my freezer of 100% organic wholemeal spelt flour from a trusted supplier here in Australia.

You could also use wholewheat, or another type of wheat grain. Check the dough is not too dry if using a different wheat to spelt, as spelt tends to use slightly less water than regular wheat. 

If you make this loaf please let me know your results - and if you made any tweaks I'd love for you to share in the comments so we can all learn from your experience. Breadmaking is one of my absolute favourite things to do and trying new things with dough is always exciting!

**DOWNLOAD the recipe here**

MANGO MANIA

You saw our glut of mangoes last week, right? I had so many plans for using them up before they became too ripe and have almost accomplished crossing everything off my list. It was ghastly hot and humid, as is usual here, so I really needed to pace myself in the kitchen with plenty of cool drinks and rest breaks. My knee was acting up something dreadful, and my numb fingers were a slight challenge, but my arm managed very well, so thank you for your prayers. xx

I began with chopping mangoes for freezing and now have a jolly good supply for hubby's autumn and winter smoothies. Then it was on to mango chutney. We normally buy it at the supermarket, but with a hundred mangoes on hand I went looking for a simple but delicious recipe to try. The first batch was just three jars, as I was not sure how good it would taste - well, it was delicious!

I then made a larger second batch, and will make another batch on Boxing Day - it's too good not to. 

Then I moved on to mango jam, something I have never seen in a store and never tasted. This was an overnighter, the fruit and sugar needing to be left to marinate in a large saucepan until the next day. I make loads of different jams, so I assumed this would cook up quickly, but when I re-read the recipe (from the Queensland CWA 1959 Cookbook) it had to boil for 3-4 hours. 

Well, after 2 1/2 hours it was still mostly liquid (and I had only used 2/3 of the sugar given in the recipe because we do not like really sweet jams)...so I added pectin, and another ten minutes of boiling gave me a nice jammy consistency. We are yet to try this, and as I have jars to give away over Christ-mas it seems we had better slice some bread tonight and do a taste test! If it does not pass muster, my gift recipients will receive mango chutney instead (which really makes me determined to cook up another batch on Boxing Day so we don't run out ourselves). I shall let you know after Christ-mas how the jam fared. 

I've also dehydrated about ten large mangoes so far. I gave them a try on the weekend when I made mango and coconut muffins to take on our drive (we take a thermos of home-brewed iced coffee and home-baked muffins for breakfast every Sunday) and they were lovely. Dehydrating the mango intensfies the flavour a great deal. 

Some of the second batch of chutney I put in small 200ml jars for gifts if needed, and as I had some nectarines to use up, a quick batch of nectarine relish was made for Blossom, who absolutely LOVES nectarine season. 

I took about sixteen mangoes over to her at the weekend, and she was thrilled to have them fresh to eat as the children eat a lot of fruit. Ross asked for my quick mango ice-cream recipe and jotted it down on his phone, intent on making it the next day. I reminded him its actually Jamie Oliver's recipe from over a decade ago, but he'll still call it "Mum's Mango Ice-Cream". ;-)

Oh, and I made a simple mango mousse on Saturday night from fresh chopped mangoes, coconut cream, honey and a little gelatine. Hubby is dairy free, which is why I used coconut cream, but apparently the common recipe uses condensed milk and whipped cream with the mangoes.

Our elder tree continues to offer an abundance of elderberries so I am air drying them in the covered back porch. This is the second batch dried, and I have three more batches yet to be plucked off their stems. 

 If you'd like any of the recipes, just let me know in the comments and I'll type them up to share in the New Year.

REPLYING TO COMMENTS

In the previous blog post I slowly started replying to some of the comments, and I'll continue to do that from now on. As long as I rest my fingers every so often, it's manageable to type again. However, I do miss knitting, crochet and embroidery, so if you'd like to offer up a little Christ-mas prayer for healing of my arm and fingers that would be just lovely. 

THE ABIGAIL STUDY

Nothing quite like a gentle reminder from a loved one that we're only days from Christ-mas and perhaps it would be wise to begin the study in the New Year. Wisdom indeed shone through.

MERRY & BLESSED CHRIST-MAS....

Something that always leaves me quiet with an extended moment of wonder, is a truth, which as a mother of many babies rings even truer in my heart this time of year, and this is it. 

Jesus our God, and Saviour, and Redeemer, left His throne in heaven to be born from the womb of a young girl whose first experience as a mother would be to nourish and nurture God in the flesh. Every one of my newborn babies was born helpless, totally dependent on me for their sustenance, their comfort, their rest, their health, and their 24/7 care, so, to imagine the King of Glory, who chose to leave His home in heaven where He had absolute authority, being the Creator of heaven and earth - that He would choose to be a helpless babe, the first child of a young woman, a poor woman, but a young woman of absolute faith and humility, a maid who would carry Him first in her womb, then in her arms, and then in her sorrows as He hung on a cross, leaves me breathless and in awe.

This Jesus, this Lord of all, this Lamb of God...when I awake Christ-mas morning, it is He whom I shall once again worship, just as I do every day of my life, and I shall rejoice just as His mother did when He rose again, and remember his promise to come back for me one day. I hope you hold fast to that promise. I hope you hold fast to Jesus, our Jesus, this Christ-mas. 

Till the New Year, God bless all of you... 

New Bible study, and home life...

 

HOME...

Every morning when I step into the garden, the sounds that greet me are both chatter and songs from a myriad of birds in all shapes, sizes and colours. They know me, and I know them. Those that have visited for a long while are not bothered when I walk up close to say good morning and ask how they're doing. Whether hanging around in the elder tree, or busy having a breakfast of stale bread and mango leftovers, they seem to be quite at ease with my delight in their company, and my own chatter or song as I pass them by and head towards the pool for my daily exercises and to feed our 15yo cat, Sophie, who took up residence in the pool enclosure when we adopted Kelly-dog last April. Since then I have placed things there solely for her comfort and the other day I remarked to hubby that her 'enclosure' looks a bit like a feline holiday resort. Though Kelly-dog is never welcome in the pool enclosure (they are mortal enemies, sadly) Sophie does quite enjoy the visiting birds who drop by.

It is mango season again, and most homes around us have huge mango trees laden with fruit. There's quite a bit of fruit sharing generosity abounding, so neighbours or work friends will gladly drop a bucket or two or three or four (!) in for others to enjoy! The father of one of my husband's co-workers came to the car yard with a trailer load for the employees, and hubby gladly accepted this delicious bounty on Monday night.

Some of the mangoes are almost as large as a football, while others are 'normal size'. We found a couple of ripe ones immediately and enjoyed them, but the rest are not ripe yet. I intend making jars of mango chutney, dehydrated slices to keep for use in cakes and muffins until next season, and frozen pieces for hubby's breakfast smoothies. Shall also try a green mango salad tomorrow. 

We decided to purchase a large order of organic spelt grain last week, as our regular health food & bulk food supplier is closing down and they had a few bags left on the shelf. I placed the seven kilos we bought in the freezer for a week, as in our hot and humid tropical climate it is so easy to have any grains inundated with bugs. The bug eggs are in the organic grains, so at this time of the year the weather is perfect for them to hatch out. Placing the grain in the freezer for at least 48 hours kills the eggs, but I choose to leave them in for a week just to be sure, and have not had an outbreak of bugs since starting this practice. Milling the whole grains into flour is quite exciting to me and I never tire of it.

I baked this loaf at the weekend and it is delicious, especially when toasted. I love the crunch of a wholegrain slice when it is toasted, then spread with avocado or peanut butter. Let me know if you'd like the recipe.

SORROW...

I imagine nearly all of you have heard of, or seen footage of, the terrorist massacre here in Australia by now. I will never grasp the mindset of evil that can set out to kill and destroy innocent lives, whether it be children, or the elderly and all ages in between, because their belief and faith is not the same as their victims. 

I shall say no more, and really want to avoid a clash in politics or ideaology here on the blog, but what I do hope we can all do, is pray for those families who now need comfort, and for those who were injured in the shooting and are still recovering or fighting for their lives in hospital. 

Fifteen innocents dead, over 40 innocents shot and recovering. Lives forever changed. 

Lord be with them. Lord heal them. Lord comfort them. Lord, teach us to follow your commandments and live lives worthy of Christ's sacrifice. Lord thank you for those brave people who stepped in and risked their lives to save others. Amen.

BIBLE...

Early this year in my diary I listed some deep dive Bible studies to do throughout 2025. First in my list was Abigail, who became a wife to King David (1 Samuel 25). I wrote some basic notes about her character, before studying the Scriptures for the ancient Hebrew meanings of the words used. You know, it didn't take long for me to recognise a similarity to the Proverbs 31 woman we studied throughout 2024, except, as I wrote back then, the Proverbs 31 woman wasn't an actual person. King Lemuel's mother listed those beautiful attributes as a description of the kind of wife the King should look for, the wife she would be proud to have her son marry. That's why I said at the time that the entire Proverbs 31 chapter should be taught to boys and young men, so that they would know what to look for in a spouse, and choose wisely when the age of marriage came upon them.

But with Abigail...she was a real woman, a humble and courageous woman. And that's what stood out to me when I began looking closely at her life, almost right on the heels of the previous year's P31 study. 

Just before I said goodbye to you all in June this year, I had written in the previous post about sharing a study of a woman from the Bible, but as you know, I decided to close blogging from my life - and despite what some of you dear ladies have said in comments, it was indeed the Lord who led me to stop when I did. He had many lessons for me to learn, and they could only be fully understood and applied if I thought my blogging days were at an end. His timing is perfect, and always for reasons that may not be understood right then and there, but sometimes, not always, He gives us the revelation and all becomes clear. 

I have that clarity now. I know what needed to be learned (and is still being learned I should add), and it's an honour to be loved so much by our Saviour that He will not allow me to stay the same, but will continue to smooth off my sharp edges until the day (God willing) He takes me home. 

So...back to Abigail.

I like to decorate the pages of my notebooks when I'm studying a topic or person in God's Word, and maybe you do that too? Then I thought, as I was pretty much bound to a chair these past few days with my knee and arm injuries, that I could make up some pretty notepaper for you to print out and use if you'd like. I do everything very slowly at the moment, and it would be easier to sit in a chair or lay on the bed and just rest through the pain, but God never made me that way. So as long as my mind is able to function I will find a way to create something lovely, even if it takes way longer than before these injuries.

Here's the notepaper which you can download and use to write your own notes on Abigail. Use the link below to download the file. They are a free gift. 

Just be sure to choose 'actual size' or 'do not scale' before printing the file. 

DOWNLOAD the Abigail sheets for your own personal study notes

I advise you to read 1 Samuel 25 first, then pray for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your understanding and read it again. Write down the things that stand out to you. Something I always do when it comes to a Bible study, is to go through the book, or passages about the topic or person, and take my own notes before I ever read or listen to anyone else's teaching on the subject. 

With this relaxed, unhurried, and intentional study of Abigail's character and life, I'll write a little bit in each blog post, and REALLY look forward to your own thoughts as we go along. Early next week I'll begin with my notes on the background at the time in Israel, and the first three verses of 1 Samuel chapter 25.

For now, I need to rest. It has taken all day to write this post thus far, but it has brought joy to my heart to connect with you again, especially with so much sadness in my country this week. Bless you for all your comments, and the insights into your own day to day lives. Soon I hope to be able to write back in the comments or in email, but for now, I ask for continued grace as I put my numb and tingling fingers to work writing here. 

God bless dear ones, and may you be ever assured of the love our God and Saviour has for you, for the tears you shed and which He catches in His own hand, and for the open arms with which He waits to welcome you when you have strayed from Him and gone your own way. Lift up your eyes, my dear ones, for our redemption draws near! Luke 21:28

My free newsletter is back. Just sign up HERE and you'll receive it every couple of weeks. 

Those missing months...

Sometimes when thinking about events that happened months before, it can seem as though it were only weeks ago. So then I look at the date, usually from a photo taken on my phone, and am genuinely surprised at how swiftly time has passed by. 

Here at home, during the many months between my 'goodbye' post in June and last week's return blog, life carried on with many of our normal routines, in spite of the physical ailments. I thought today I would share a kind of 'catch-up' post for you. xxxx

During the long blogging absence I still baked bread, made cordial, jams and preserves...

Spent time with the grandkids... 

(Charlie is always the one that makes us laugh!)

(Cully May is the happiest 9yo I have ever known. We spent a day designing cards and she chose to create her own Christmas cards. In the process she learned about using a light box, scanning her design, and printing it up on cardstock - brilliant!)

(Rafaella loves to cook and sew. We spent a day sewing Christmas ornaments in felt with beads, and learning very simple recipes such as trifle that she could make without assistance for her family - and she did make it that following night and her mum and dad were very impressed!)

Hubby and I still took long country drives with the Kelly-dog every weekend...

I continued doing what I could in the garden, and absolutely loved making notes in my garden diary and gathering fresh herbs each day for teas and seasonings.

(diary entry written before the knee injury)

(diary entry written after the knee injury)

I continued working on deep Bible studies, and in the past six months have loved digging into the books of James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1 and 2 Timothy, Revelation, and am currently in Titus. The most wonderful helps have been the in-depth studies from David Pawson which I purchase on Kindle for just $5 each (the paperbacks would be wonderful, but are out of our budget at around $30 each). Still, the Kindle versions are excellent for highlighting texts and making notes, so I feel VERY blessed to have this option. Hubby is currently delving into Isaiah. 

(There are Youtube videos of David's teachings, but they are not like the books - the books have SO much depth and truly draw you closer to the Lord and living a life more worthy of Christ's sacrifice)

I tried a few new things when making gifts, such as this oval pot holder from a free pattern by Ali of Arabesque Scissors...

...and the knitted tea cosies I showed you last week. One thing I did this week was crochet around the bottom edge of the tea cosy I made for my daughter Kezzie, and it really added to the overall effect!

Also this week, I decided to use up some smaller fabric pieces, wadding offcuts, and scraps of yarn to make coasters. Simple, but lovely as these were some favourite fabrics once...

Today Blossom and I took the kids to Bunnings. They have fun at the indoor playground while Bloss and I have coffee, and then we wander around to see what we can find for the garden, or home repairs. I got some zinnia seedlings, and she got new rollers for the back screen door. 

Then the kids did crafts...and I say kids collectively because Blossom is my big kid. ;-)

Update on my nerve pain issue. Mmm...this was incredible, and totally not expected. After a long list of tests my excellent doctor sent me for on Monday, it turns out that as well as the radial tunnel syndrome (tennis elbow), the peripheral neuropathy in my hand is not caused by it. It's caused by a B6 toxicity, with a magnesium toxicity thrown in for good (bad!) measure. It may take many months to rectify this and get my levels back in normal range so that my fingers return to normal, but what a relief to have this diagnosis. It answered so many questions, and has opened the door for healing. Praise God! :-)

THANK YOU for every single comment last week, for the emails, the advice, the love, care and prayers, and just for 'being here' to welcome me back to blogging. I prayed for everyone, and I shed more than a few tears from the kindnesses offered. YOU are amazing women, a blessing in anyone's life, but especially in mine. 

I did not respond to anyone as after that long post, my numb and tingly fingers needed days to improve, though just barely. Again, I know blogging will affect my fingers, but its truly worth it to be 'back in touch' with you all. 

So, I shall sign off now, and go water the front garden, which is parched as the wet season still has not arrived...but I'll be back next week with some thoughts from my Bible studies. Hope you enjoyed today's catch up. God bless your dear hearts, and may He show you every day that while you still have breath, He has a plan for you...you will never be without purpose, sweetheart. How precious you are!

PS: That design on the cover of my garden diary is still a free pattern here on the blog. Just head HERE to download it. x