Blessings

Spring is here!  What a blessing the winter rains have been after the awful heat and dryness of last year.  We are still behind in our rainfall, but the winter rains have been wonderful.  Everything looks so green and healthy.  Everyone is raving about the beautiful wildflowers.  Our crepe myrtles look the best they ever have, and the cherry sage bloomed like crazy.  The honey bees are busy, busy.  I'm so glad to see them back again.  

May you flourish this springtime as well!  Blessings!

Organic vs. Conventional

While I didn't head down the organic path kicking and screaming, it was with a hefty amount of skepticism.  There have been so many "health" trends come and go, I pretty much ignore whatever is the latest and greatest health "discovery" these days.  And I know that the term "organic" is thrown around rather loosely.  So why do I buy organic?


Just because a product was grown organically doesn't mean it is chemical free.  It should mean, though, that the chemicals used are naturally, rather than synthetically, based.  Consequently they should work more in line with the plants natural processes.  Also, the theory behind growing organic is to use fewer chemical rather than more, thus exposing us to fewer chemicals.  In principle, organic should mean working with nature to make nature flourish, which I believe is central to the way God created things to work.  So, on that basis, I support the movement toward growing food organically.  


That being said, buying organic is not always practical or affordable, so this past year I have been working through balancing the organic and the conventional.  Here is where I have landed:


If what I am buying cannot be peeled, I try to buy organic as much as possible.  This means all my greens; flours, grains, and cereals for my husband; and canned products.  Whatever fresh produce I can, I buy at my local farmers' market.  


If it is something I can peel, I buy organic when I can, but will go conventional if the organic doesn't look good or isn't available.


If it is a root crop (potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes), I buy conventional.  The exception to that being carrots because the ones at my local farmers' market taste so much better than what I get at the store. I also have found that organic dried fruit tends to spoil much more quickly than conventional, so I generally buy conventional.  


Beef I buy from a local ranch, eggs I get at the farmers' market, and chicken I still buy conventionally because I only like thighs, and I haven't found a practical way to go local or organic there. 


I would say that, overall, my diet is about 60/40 to 70/30 organic to conventional, and I am satisfied with that.  My plan for the coming year is to just keep a steady course, and after that, we shall see.  

The Two Year Mark

This month it is two years since the beginning of my big diet adventure.  How I eat and what I eat are so completely different from before.  I have lost 30 pounds (which makes it way more fun to shop for clothes), and my overall health and energy are so much better.  It has been a rather expensive process, as well, but not more so than trying to manage the issues with medications.  


To make sure I keep my various foods in balance, I have a pretty strict diet rotation.  What I lose in flexibility, I make up for with ease of planning.  Here is my current food list:


Proteins:  Beef, chicken, eggs, and goat's milk kefir


Starches:  Potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and acorn squash


Greens:  Chard, kale, spinach, romaine, and bibb lettuce


Veggies:  Broccoli, asparagus, green beans, carrots, onions, and bell pepper


Fruits:  Apple, pears, nectarines (summer), canned peaches (winter), plums (summer), frozen blueberries (being tested), and golden raisins


Sugars:  Maple syrup and honey


Misc.:  Coconut milk, canola oil, sea salt (non-iodized), most herbs and spices, vanilla (homemade), arrowroot starch, cocoa powder, and unsweetened baking chocolate


Snacks:  Pumpkin custard and chocolate pudding


While it is limited, there is still enough variety that my meals aren't boring.  There are things I miss, but only now and then.  Though I still hope to be able to add foods back over time, if that is not the case, I am content with things as they are.  It is really a small price to pay to feel so much better.


Things I am so thankful to have had in this journey:  the internet; my local farmer's market; the local ranch where I get my beef; Sprouts, Whole Foods, and my local grocery store; and most of all, my dear husband for his encouragement and patience in the ups and downs of this process.  


This journey has also led me into the world of the organic.  At this point, I am now evaluating where buying organic is worth the money to me and where it is not, but more on that thought in the next post.  


  

Declaring Victory

The Challenge:


A group quilt project, meaning block sizes will not be consistent.


A difficult pattern--odd shapes, biased edges.


The Goal:


Put all the blocks together to make the top.


This was definitely a stretching project for my whole quilting group.  The blocks themselves were not only difficult, but the pattern was created where the blocks joined each other so all the pieces had to go together just so.  The first step was sewing strips together, and, as with any group quilt, there is going to be various seam widths, creating different sized units. My job was to mark the stripped units for cutting the actual pattern pieces which were kite-shaped.  I then supervised the placing of the pieces for the blocks so the pattern would come together.  Once the blocks and edge units were made, I volunteered to put the top together.  Could I make it happen?

I named this project Match Point--both in the sense of a game as well as trying to actually get the points to match.  It was definitely back and forth, but for the most part it went together pretty well. 


A miss 

A hit.

Success.

A Lovely Way to End the Day

Enough said. :-)