The Start of Something...

I have been wanting to write about this topic for quite awhile now.  There has been a shift in me, maybe unnoticeable to some.  I finally feel free to stand up for myself and the way I want to eat.  There have been many obstacles I've had to face, which is why it took me more than 2 years to finally make the change.  A lot of the people in my life have been a force against my healthy eating, but ultimately, the change had to come from me.  I had to be prepared.  I have to be mentally ready for it.  

There was a lot of guilt for awhile.  Well, for years.  Mike loves to cook, and he loves to share what he cooks with others.  But the majority of his meals have always been meat based.  Loads of fat and dairy.  So, the issue with that was with me. Not him.  I had to learn to put myself first for a change and do what was right for me.  He isn't heartbroken like I thought.  He doesn't resent me for eating plant based.  It was in my head.  Hurdle #1....  conquered!

 Please understand...  my motivation in sharing this journey is not to persuade anyone to go vegan.  There are enough people out there doing that.  And everyone has their own journey to follow in their own time.  I'd like to share this because there are so things stacked against us when we're trying to eat healthier, and earth and animal friendly.  There is misleading information everywhere!  If I can help anyone make their transition easier by sharing my path, I will have done what I set out to do.  But please, if this does not interest you, I will not be offended if you opt out of reading this humble little blog.  

I do have to say, I do have a few things going for me that made at least my decision to go plant based easier.  One is that I never limit myself by saying things like "I can never give up coffee" or "I just couldn't live without cheese".  I guess it's that little rebel in me, but I have never cut myself off from a challenge by thinking that way.  Maybe my positivity has always won, but saying I could never do something is negative to the extreme, if you ask me.  I just don't give myself limits.  You cannot imagine the doors that open when you say yes to things.  (Reasonable things, anyway). 

 As it turns out, I didn't even give up coffee this time.   I didn't give up sugar either.  There are bigger fish to fry.  (Using that term ironically, of course, lol).

So, as I need to go on with day 23 of my plant based journey, I will end this here.  Please leave comments if this interests you.  Even if you are thinking of eating more vegetables for health, or eating to help the planet, let me know.  It will help me to stay focused.

Anonymous negative comments are not productive, so if you are inclined to leave them, go write your own blog instead!  

Thank you for reading!  Now go outside and play!

Cilantro growing in the weeds!

Beans growing in the weeds!

Kale growing in the... notice a pattern?  Could I be a lazy gardener?  :)

Now is as good a time as any...

Well, it's after noon already and I finally got out of my bathrobe!  It's a really beautiful rainy day and I've had to close up the house a bit because of a chill sweeping through.  I love mornings like this one.  When I have a few days of running around, getting this and that done, it's nice to be home, making plans.  Which is what I am always doing.  Ideas are always running though my head.

I haven't written a blog in quite awhile, so this one may be rambly and without focus.  I've been busy in the garden the last few days planting.  Or out at the nurseries finding new things to plant.  I'm especially excited about the new berry bushes I've planted.  I can't find local sources for these plants, of course, so I've mail ordered them.  I will possibly do a post about them separately.  One more addition to the food independence I've been working for.

There are so many projects in the works right now.  I've come to a time that I can really recognize the people in my life that put their selfish needs before mine.  People who call themselves friends but are only there to satisfy their own ego and insecurity.  In the past, I have fulfilled that for them, because I don't have a need to be imposing, or self-important.  I can simply let them have all the "glory", figuratively speaking.  But, there is only so much this girl can take before I put my wall up.  There is only so much negativity I can handle.  I notice that when you stop catering to those people, all of a sudden, you are not important to them anymore.  They find fault with you over nothing.  I'm just a stepping stone to them.  Well, I'm certainly not perfect, but I have more value than that.

And then there are those friends who lift you up.  I'm so grateful for them.   I will leave it at that.

There.  Glad I got that off my chest.  It's up to the universe now.  Sorry for ranting.  Sometimes I just need to.

A little more about ego.  So much of the worlds problems are generated from humankind and it's ego.  You don't see anything in nature with ego.  I am a firm believer that if I don't see an example of something in nature, than it isn't meant to be.  Nature is perfect.  Before humans came in with all their egos, trying to control everything, nature had a perfect system.  We come in, fight with nature, kill it, destroy it, instead of living alongside with balance, and we wonder why Mother Earth is angry.  The earth and it's unbalance is creating the storms and extreme weather to try to tip the scales back to medium.  Guess who will not survive?  The selfish, egotistical humans.

My next post I will be more positive and forward moving.  I just get so tired of the small minded humans.  Certainly a day in solitude with Mother Nature will shift my gears.  Thank you so much for reading.  I will most likely be around again.

Seed Saving

Oh my, am I having fun in the garden this week.  

I guess it shows something about my character the way my garden grows...  I get really excited for Spring to come and have spent all winter dreaming dreams about which varieties of this and that I wish to plant.  Spring comes and I plant about half of those varieties.  Summer hits and I get busy doing things, or the heat makes me lazy and the garden takes off.  By the time September gets here, the weeds are so big, you can build a house underneath them, and somehow, I have neglected myself into a place I don't even recognize.  Luckily, the fall air hits me and I get energized to nest and to put away for winter.  Which leads me to today's topic:  seed saving.

This year seems so absolutely abundant in seeds that I have a hard time ignoring it.  More and more, each year affords me the pleasure of having things reseed themselves in places throughout the garden.  It kind of justifies my tendencies to have untidy gardens.  Who knows which weed could be some amazing herb, vegetable or flower from last years planting...  This year I had a cleome seed itself on the beach, making a huge display of pink and white blooms all summer.  This years plant was actually more prolific than the plant I bought last year, that this seed must have come from.   

This year, however, I am purposefully saving seed in little paper bags.  I don't really have to do this.  Nature is the best gardener.  But I thought I can leave a little for nature to reseed for me and then I have some to share.  Sharing is one of the best things about gardening.  You always cherish that seedling or plant you received from a friend.  (Unless you're a jerk, lol)  

As you know, I did a seed giveaway in my last post.  I am hoping to do this often to inspire others and to thank you all for reading and interacting with this little blog.  I appreciate and am grateful for you.

Until next time.

Cleome that reseeded itself.

Black Turtle Beans from my friend Martha that I cherish!

Morning Glories are easy to save seed from

Giving Thanks and Being Grateful

I've taken a short break from writing, just to cleanse and rest my brain.  It's getting to that time of year when I like to stay home, decorate, clean, nest, cook and bake.  Mike and I both love to have the house fill with scents of anything homey and warm.  We love our tart burners, essential oil infusers, candles, incense, and simmering spices.  The pot on the wood stove always has something brewing in it.

I've also been giving some thought to the things I'm thankful for.  I think it's important to be thankful all year to keep everything in check.  It simply makes me happier to be always thinking about the things that I'm grateful for.

My followers and readers of this silly little blog are such a source of joy for me.  Most of you share my interests in the things I feel compelled to write about, and I always look forward to hearing from people.  So, I am doing a little seed giveaway.

I have an abundance of certain seeds that are very important to me and I have enough to share.  All of these seeds are from plants that have thrived on this property at least three years.  That means that no seed company has been involved to corrupt these seeds, no chemicals have been used, and nature has been in complete control of the reproduction.

Amaranth in full bloom

The first seed I have to give away is amaranth.  I have written a lot about amaranth as a dried flower, a vegetable and a really unique ornamental garden plant. The young leaves and seeds are edible.  They grow about 5 to 6 feet tall and couldn't be easier to grow.  I don't know why they aren't more popular in landscapes.  But they will be now!

Amaranth seedlings about a foot tall.

All I did to establish my amaranth patch is to leave it in the garden and let it reseed itself.  I have had the same plants 7 or 8 years.  Each plant will make thousands of seeds, which you can collect and share, eat, or leave them to reseed in the garden for next year.  I have had them growing in pots also, but they do not get as tall.


Another plant I talk a lot about is Calendula.  Calendula is one of the happiest flowers I know of and once established in your garden, will flourish and be super abundant for whatever you want to use it for.  Like amaranth, it has many uses.  I dry the flowers for a medicinal tea.  It's used in face creams and other cosmetics.  It's also a beautiful landscape annual.  It flowers early and keeps flowering all summer and into the winter.  It will tolerate light frosts.

Calendula in the garden early in the spring

So, as for the giveaway.  Here is what we will do.  I will mail a bunch of both of these seeds to the first 3 people to send me their mailing address and name.  You can send it to my email address: theblueladyofthelake@gmail.com.  Each additional name and address I receive with then be put in a hat and I will pick 3 more people to receive seeds.

The deadline will be Tuesday, September 4th, 2018 and I will pick the names that day and mail them.

Thank you all for supporting me and my ramblings.  Have a wonderful happy, healthy day.

Calendula, lemon balm and comfrey in my bath water

Calendula Seeds

Making calendula infused oil

The Journey We Are All On

It has been quite some time since I've written a blog post.  This morning I had a few minutes to read some of my readers comments and messages and found some beautiful inspiration from you.  My reasons for stopping my writings have been a detriment to me, as I really find great joy in connecting with you all in this way.  After all, it's a journey that we are all on, to be as healthy as we can be, mentally and physically, and to find happiness and joy along the way.  So, here are a few photographs I took yesterday that I hope will be a gateway to more frequent posts in the future.  I hope they inspire you.  Have a happy and healthy day.

Day 18 Update... Addressing Concerns...

As you may already know, I've had to tweak my diet a little bit for lack of abundance this year.  But I saw a few of my readers yesterday and I wanted to clear up some concerns they were telling me about.  

The first thing I want to talk about is getting enough fats in our diet.  Fats are very important.  Fats help our bodies metabolize and absorb the vitamins that we are getting from food.  In fact, eating a little fat at the same time as taking vitamins, if taking them, can increase our bodies usage of the vitamins more than if we don't eat any fat.

  Fat also helps our brains function.  Lack of fats can make people have brain fuzz.  Our brain is made of cholesterol and fat.  There are studies showing that a diet low in "good" fats can cause depression because of the lack of cholesterol.  I really think this is why I felt depressed on my first days into this journey.  My brain wasn't getting what it needed.  The day I added eggs to my diet, I immediately felt better.  

My intention this year was to have more seeds to eat, which contain fatty acids.  I also normally have eggs from my chickens, but they are still too young to lay eggs. So, I have been buying them from a local farmer.  It's all in my planning, or lack of planning, and I will get into more about fats in another post.

The other thing that was mentioned yesterday was carbs.  The nice woman I talked to was telling me about a friend she had who was trying to lose weight and cut out carbs from her diet, was fasting or something, had lost a whole bunch of weight and then was in the emergency room because her heart was going haywire.  I can't remember the story word for word, but I just wanted to make this clear just in case people are thinking I'm doing this to lose weight.  I have lost a little weight, but it is not my intention to use this as a "diet".   Not only can losing weight really fast be bad for your health, but people who lose weight really fast never keep the weight off.  If I lose weight, I want it to be very slowly.  Carbs are great for energy and I am eating lots of carbs.  But not overly processed carbs.  I'm eating potatoes, beans, greens, squash.  All real, unprocessed whole food.

Anyone just starting to follow this blog, or anyone following, but missed it, can go back and read my first post about eating what I grow from back in June.  I give all my reasons for doing this.  Weight loss was only an afterthought.

These last 18 days, I have been on an educational journey.  I'm learning more about myself, and about what I need to do in the future to be more food secure.  That's what this is about for me.  Things have evolved over the last 18 days, but I am still focused on eating real, live, clean, local food, and the good that will do to me, others, and the earth.

Sunflower seeds have lots of good fats in them.  It's a superfood.

Amaranth seeds.  Good fats.

Carbs.  Unprocessed.

Sunflowers in the garden

Note:  I'm adding a note to this post because there are a few things I have wrong in the above blog.   I chose not to delete all the misinformation completely because I want to show that we can all get the wrong info now and again, and it's okay..  I was wrong about the fats and cholesterol.  Like many of you, I have tried many different "diets" that have all failed.  Keto being one of them.  Although we need fats in our diet, I was very wrong about the amount that is adequate and that fats from plants like nuts and seeds are just as viable, without the negative impact that raising animals for meat has on the environment.

Bag Balm

Now that the air is frigid and we have to heat the house to keep warm, the air gets dryer and dryer.  And so does my skin.  I find that the coconut oil I use for moisturizer in the summer does nothing for me in these cold months.  I switch to thicker stuff with cocoa butter or vitamin E in it, and that does the trick for my everyday skin.  But sometimes I need something else for wind burned, chapped skin.  So I break out the bag balm.

I realize most people know about this great stuff already, but as I was fishing my green tin full of relief out of the back of the cupboard in the bathroom, I decided it needed a little attention in this here blog.

I always remember the distinctive green metal tin sitting on the shelf at home.  The first time I ever used it was maybe around high school for burns or something.  My sister and I were always inventing beauty products from things around the house.  That was also around the time we started making our own sugar scrubs for our hands and feet.  I didn't think about bag balm again until I lived on my own and saw it somewhere and bought some.  The tin that I have now is only the second one I've owned in my lifetime.

One of the reasons bag balm doesn't go bad, or rancid is because it contains lanolin.  Lanolin is a byproduct that comes from washing wool.  It is produced by sheep to protect their skin and then is transferred onto the wool.  When the wool is carefully washed after sheering, the lanolin that is washed off can then be used in products to protect our skin.

Bag balm also contains petroleum oil, and 8-Hydroxyquinoline Sulfate, which is an antibacterial and protective property, and another reason it keeps from spoiling.

I think if something has been used consistently since 1899, we should not ignore it.  If you read the container that bag balm comes in, it will say all sorts of things about cows and their udders.  Bag balm is used on dairy cows to keep their parts from being chapped and to help heal abrasions.  I use it for the same reason, but I don't have to stand out in a cold barn waiting to be milked.

Every time I have chapped lips, I put bag balm on them right before bed.  When I wake up, the chapped lips are pretty much gone.  Really sore, dry hands or feet?  I apply bag balm to them and put socks on over the whole mess and go to bed.  By morning I have a baby's butt on my feet.  Lol.

I have used bag balm on my chickens to keep their combs from getting frost bite.  I've used it on the cats and dogs for minor abrasions and rashes.  Blisters, burns, scrapes, and bites, bag balm goes on and a band-aid goes on over that.

There aren't many places you can buy bag balm.  Some drug stores have it.  Most pet supply places have it, especially if they cater to livestock animals.  It's a little more expensive online.  A 10 ounce tin is about $6 or $7 in the stores, I think, but it'll last you 10 years.  Well worth the investment.