It’s coming together nicely, and already looks so different than it did early this spring, especially with the addition of the pergola.

The pots by the window will hopefully provide us with tomatoes, cucumbers and limes.

I dream about having espaliered apple trees along the brick wall, but for now these morning glories are pretty. They just grew all on their own.

The ground cover plants keep filling in nicely.

Although we have our eye out for a fountain, for now this birdbath makes me smile.. One of my birthday gifts.

I didn’t get pictures of the sun perennial garden we’re working on. Here’s another birthday gift that is in the shade perennial garden.

In the front potager (kitchen) garden, we have more herbs than we know what to do with. The pole beans are already six inches taller than in this picture.

And, my favorite summertime room. This is my view every morning as I read and sip coffee. I recently hung several prisms in the windows that fill the room with tiny rainbows.

Just recently, for close to four weeks I eliminated all sugar and gluten (grains, flour, etc) from my diet. My cravings were minimal and I enjoyed feeling my system regain balance. I was also able to recognize something I hadn’t before, at least on this level.

I already mentioned that I really didn’t struggle too much with cravings.  Sure, here and there I would want something that would take a bit of self-control and willpower to say no to, but for the most part it went pretty smoothly.

Until one evening.

Some stresses had been building up for the past few days, and on this particular evening I was feeling discouraged and very frustrated.  And suddenly, I was craving chocolate.  Ice cream.  Wine.  You name it, I wanted it.

I managed to not succumb to the temptations that were threatening, but it dawned on me how much food can be a crutch.  Or something we use to comfort ourselves. Or reward ourselves.  Or numb ourselves.  We feel a bit stressed or put under pressure, and it’s just knee-jerk to use food or drink for consolation.

I don’t think most of us are concerned about this.  So what, right?  Except when we turn to cookies, we probably aren’t turning to God who would love to have us bring our struggles to him in prayer.  We probably aren’t even turning to friends, which is also what God has provided for comfort, encouragement and counsel.

What’s worse is we end up subconsciously teaching our children this habit.  Lose a game?  Let’s all go out for ice cream.  Celebrating a birthday?  Let’s binge on fluorescent cake and chemicals labeled as candy.  Get all A’s?  Let’s splurge on sugary junk.

Our children get the message loud and clear.  Food, particularly the completely non-nourishing, disease-causing kind, is the perfect reward, comforter, and joy.

What if food was just food?  What if, when I did want to indulge, I based my choices on thoughtful consideration instead of ingrained habit?  What if I only enjoyed a piece of chocolate or a glass of wine when I simply wanted to revel in it’s taste?  What if I celebrated birthdays with fresh strawberries and real whipped cream?  What if a treat could be one hearty homemade cookie?

This has been a long, gradual change in our home, one that I often let slip and (even more frustrating) one that is constantly undermined by our culture’s mindless traditions and foolish patterns.   I’m trying hard to instill in my children a different way of viewing food.

But first I have to view it differently myself.

Just take a look at these sad little things.

Visit my other blog TamraGirl to see my “new” chairs.

For those interested in the house updates…

I’ve been working on the backyard whenever it’s been warm (and dry) enough.  It didn’t even get close to finished last year since 1) I focused mainly on the front yard and 2)  Any time I did spend back there was usually spent ripping overgrown brush and dead bushes out before there was any chance of putting anything in.

Here are the before pictures.

This is by the shed. The broken concrete led to a handy dandy gas grill, complete with wasp nest.

To the right a little, with more broken up concrete.

And, moving further to the right. Notice the lovely (broken) air conditioner unit hidden behind the (ugly) fence section.

And even more to the right..

Beautiful.

Now, the after pics. I used the unbroken cement squares and made a checkerboard pattern. Weird, but the kids like it.

I extended the bed to go all around the tree.

Late last fall, the Green Stewards guys got rid of the air conditioner unit and put in the patio and little walkways. I’m wanting to plant espaliered apple trees along the brick wall.  I’m also thinking I’ll plant tomatoes and peppers under the windows, or maybe bush cucumbers, since it gets lots of afternoon sun there.  I can envision containers of strawberries too.

We found tons of patio stone and bricks half buried and covered by grass, brush and ground cover. I reshaped the beds (managing to save some groundcover) and re-laid a small patio edged with the found bricks. On the center stone, I want a fountain. I left some dirt to plant flowers or something around the fountain, again using leaf compost to build up the soil.

Come see me at the Real Food Revolution.

About a decade ago, we began changing our lifestyle, our diet and our homelife.

This wasn’t a fad, nor was it a result of some great new epiphany.  It wasn’t even really a single life-changing decision born from chasing a dream or seeing a vision.  No, nothing that interesting.  It was more like simply taking a series of small steps, that would lead us to yet another series of steps.

We were full partakers of the consumeristic mentality, grappling with children becoming school age, and on top of it all, we were both were experiencing health challenges to which conventional medicine gave unsatisfactory answers.

As we gathered information and began making changes, there were a couple of themes that seemed on the surface to be admirable and beneficial, but with further scrutiny proved to be defective and even dangerous.

One was the “self-sufficient” idea and other was the “separatist” idea.  They are connected, in that each holds the premise that a family should seek to be an island of sorts.

Self-sufficiency is lauded by many who seek to educate and inform those who are seeking a simpler lifestyle.  While looking for information regarding small farming, gardening, using less resources like electricity, water and just consumer goods, you will likely run into the whole mindset that it is preferred to have the ability to do it all yourself.  Make your own soap, grow all your own food, raise and butcher your own animals.  Basically, you should build, grow, repair, maintain and create everything yourself.

The other idea, separatism, is the idea that home should be a refuge.  The world “out there” was to be feared and rejected, while the family should keep themselves holed up in their fortress, safe within their sanctuary.

The problem is, we aren’t designed to do everything ourselves independent from others, and were sure weren’t created to be isolated.

Practically speaking, seeking to possess the skills to do everything on one’s own is not only ridiculous, it is a kind of twisted pride.  There is nothing holy about living in a vacuum, but there is great joy and wisdom in sharing skills with others while being blessed by theirs.

Further, while our homes should be the center of our lives in the sense that we value marriage and children, it is not the be-all and end-all.  While it is a source of productivity, it should not simply benefit family members.  The gifts we possess aren’t meant to be kept to ourselves.  Home is meant to have an 0utward effect.

As a wife and mother, I can attest to the harm that self-sufficiency and separatism can have on families, and particularly on young mothers.  All too often, the principle of “home” means that she disconnects herself from most outside relationships while spending her entire waking moments on her children and household tasks.  Add to this the burden of trying to live up to some homesteading ideal, and it isn’t long before she’s pushed to the end of her limits and beyond.

• Nurture and build relationships with encouraging friends.  Make time for them.  Pray with them.  Bear each other’s burdens.
• Find others who possess skills, resources, and knowledge you desire.  Barter, share and trade with them.  Join forces with them.
• Invite into your home people who hold different worldviews, lifestyle, religion, politics, etc.  Listen to what is on their hearts.  Learn why they believe what they believe.

Matt 5:14-16   You are the light of the world.   A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.   Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Rom 12:5-6   so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them

Gal 6:2   Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

We broke open a jar of homemade pickles today and were so pleased to discover that they were absolutely scrumptious!  I can’t claim the credit, as Skylar and our sweet friend Grace are the ones who made them.  She just sent me the recipe, which is a family recipe of theirs.  (Thanks, Aunt Myrt!)

Pickle recipe for 1 quart size jar:

Sterilize jar and heat lids in hot water.

While still hot, fill jar with

• 2 cloves of garlic
• cucumbers (whole, spear or sliced)
• 1-2 heads of dill
• 1 Tbs of canning salt.

Boil 1/2 cup a.c. vinegar. Pour into jar and fill to top with boiling water.

Screw on lid and ring and water bath 15 minutes

(And now for the really hard part.)  Let set for 4-5 months before eating.

I watched a video last week, where Jamie Oliver reveals how elementary school children cannot identify vegetables. Notice their exclamation of horror when he first reveals the pile of fresh produce. Amazing.

It’s all part of his Food Revolution, his passion to revolutionize the way we think about food, particularly in regards to children’s diets. You can view the entire movie, Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food.

His main point was that while the home used to be the place where we learned about food, what is good and how to prepare it, we are now a culture in which people are consistently eating foods that are killing them and their children, and supposedly we have no idea how to stop that.

He proposed things like schools teaching children about fresh fruits and vegetables, changing school lunch menus, and placing a food ambassador in grocery stores.  From corporations to government, he recommended changes in the way we choose and prepare our food.

I admire his passion.  I don’t agree with his assumption that we’re idiots.

And then I read an article in the New York Times titles, U.S. Children: Generation Snack.

It states “we are raising a generation of snackers - kids who eat almost constantly throughout the day as they graze on cookies, salty snacks and fruit drinks.”

They found numbers that suggest “snacking has eroded meal time and that children are taking in slightly fewer calories during breakfast, lunch and dinner, when more healthful foods are typically served, because of their intense snacking habits.”

Oh, it’d be one thing if children were snacking on good foods.  Children are natural grazers, in fact.  But, no.  The article goes on to state, “Desserts like cookies and cakes remain the main source of snacking. Salty snacks like chips and pretzels have posted the biggest gains and are the second largest snack category. Candy and fruit drinks are also popular. One notable trend is that in the past few decades, fruit drinks have replaced whole fruit as a snack.”

Okay, maybe we are idiots.

I mean, how stupid does one have to be to eat frozen corn dogs and Little Debbies every day and then act surprised that they’re obese and diabetic? How ignorant are we that we feed our children sugary junk constantly, while still expecting their school performance to rise?

(Meanwhile, we take away their recess, and even if they do go outside, tell them they can’t run on a playground.)

I don’t know if more education is the answer though, at least in what I can only assume the education will be like.  The typical nutritionist in the U.S. still advises a low-fat, high-grain diet for children.  Sigh.

It just doesn’t seem like rocket science to me that children need whole foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains), healthy fats and oils (real butter, raw whole milk, cheese, coconut and olive oil), seeds and nuts, and meat.  Salt should be real and unprocessed sea salt.

The Weston A. Price foundation has the best diet information that I know of.  Here’s a ton of articles specifically for children.

If you have no idea where to begin, Jamie Oliver’s own Ministry of Food isn’t half bad, either.

Another mom’s story of her family’s eating habit in Gradual Change.

Even if you’re the third generation of bad eating habits, there is a plethora of education, knowledge and resources at your fingertips.

There is no excuse.

If we’re not friends on Facebook, you may have missed out on some of my favorite recipes I’ve been posting on the Real Food Revolution, like Potato Leek Soup, Herb Bread, Cranberry Cake with Caramel Sauce, and Cranberry Chutney.

Have a very Merry Christmas!