Good morning, from the mountains of Kentucky! It’s a quiet morning on the homestead! The sound of crickets outside the window, the calm stillness in the air, the hum of a tractor in the far distance, and the crows from the chicken coop stir a desire deep within me to reflect on our bountiful blessings from God. I am thankful for our salvation, our family, our health, our church family, and for His amazing grace. As the sun rises, the world outside our window comes to life… what a beautiful fall-like day we have been gifted!
Early morning visitor!
With the recent surge in heat we have been experiencing, the fall-like temperatures are a welcomed change. This change has brought many of the summer leaves down early over the course of the past few weeks. The crunch of the dry leaves beneath my feet this morning feels as if it were late September in the mountains. I am reminded of time this morning and how precious it truly is. Time is something that we often take for granted. Many of us count down the days until Christinas, a birthday, summer vacation, the birth of a child, a holiday, graduation, and even retirement. Just as many of you are guilty, I too, have counted days until an event or date.
During the quiet morning meditation, prayer time, and Bible study, my heart aches for a friend who received the news that no one wants to hear… you have cancer. I know God is bigger than cancer and He can perform miracles that man cannot. This news made me think even more about life. It is truly as described in the Bible as vapor on water. In other words, it is temporary and we have it for a borrowed amount of time.
This thought lead me to be even more thankful for life and the time that I have been blessed with and a question on my thoughts. What are we doing with this time? Once time has passed, it cannot be reclaimed… it’s gone. This lead me to the urgency, even more than before, to stop counting days down until some big or even small events. I am reminded to cherish this day, make the most of this day, live it to its fullest, be thankful for what the day brings, and be content with this specific day and know that tomorrow is a new day and then today becomes a yesterday… a day that is past and finished.
Early morning fog in the mountains.
I hope this short post inspires you to slow down, stop wishing your life away, take time to enjoy the day to its fullest, and cherish the days one by one we have been given. Remember, each day is a day that we are gifted. As the Bible tells us in James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Feel free to like, share, or follow. Also, head over to Apple Podcasts and check out our latest episode on Homesteading in the Mountains. God bless, from the mountains of Kentucky and happy homesteading from our homestead to yours.
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky! It’s been a busy start to July on the homestead. We have been working fiercely in the vegetable garden on dry days because we’ve had a magnitude of rainy days this spring and summer. The garden looks great! Everything seems to be flourishing. We’ve been picking a lot of cucumbers, zucchini, and summer squash. These are our favorites! We love incorporating it with breakfast, lunch, and supper. We can, freeze, and dehydrate squash and zucchini. We harvested last summers’ onions a few days ago to dry for winter onions and planted a new row of onions to eat this summer and fall.
Summer squashLast season’s onionsDrying last season onions for the winter. Lemon balm plant
Enough about the homestead, this post is about one of my favorite herbs, lemon balm. Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is an herb from the mint family. The leaves have a mild lemon aroma and a lemony taste. The leaves are used to make teas, medicinal salves, oils, and to flavor foods. Our favorite use of lemon balm is making tea. Lemon balm tea is great to relax after a busy day. It not only has a relaxing element, it soothes as well. We have found that the leaves can sooth a cold sore, and minor scrapes. Sipping lemon balm tea can also help ease indigestion.
Growing Lemon Balm
Lemon balm is a perennial that loves to thrive in partly sunny beds. Forewarning, it It will spread quickly and overtake other plants. We grow it in a huge flower pot as it is a bit of an escape artist and will escape beds and overtake other plants. After the last harvest, the pot is covered with a warm bedding to protect the roots from the harsh winter elements. Some years, it returns and some it doesn’t. However, it is easy to grow from seeds. The plants are also inexpensive at most green houses. It will always return if you plant it in the ground. It can be planted in an isolated bed and thrive for years to come. Like all mints, the more it’s pruned, the thicker it gets. It actually needs pruned frequently in the summer and early fall to prevent it from getting leggy. Pruning is easy. I use kitchen shears to snip the stem between the leaves. Before you know that snipped stem produces two or more new stems that produce more leaves. A good cutting does it well.
Drying Lemon Balm For Tea
Lemon balm is easy to dry. I typically cut small to medium quantities throughout the summer and a large amount with the final harvest of the season. For the smaller amounts, I prune the stems with the leaves in tact, and spread them over a cheese cloth or paper towel in a large sheet tray placed in a well ventilated place in the house. For the larger harvests, I use a large mesh drying rack in the garage. Once the leaves are brittle and crispy, they are ground for teas and spices. I store my teas in glass jars in a dark cabinet. Teas usually maintain their flavor for up to three years before they become rancid. To make a cup of lemon balm tea, add tea leaves to tea bag or tea ball and place it in your desired tea cup or mug. Pour boiling water over the tea ball or bag and allow tea to steep for at least five minutes. Removing the ball or tea bag is optional. Your tea is ready. It is a delicious lemon flavor that we enjoy for the taste and the soothing benefits. I also find true satisfaction with drinking tea made from the plants we plant, grow, harvest, and dry. Self-sustaining is a satisfying wonderful feeling.
My favorite tea mug
Making Lemon Balm Oil
I love to make lemon balm oil for my skin, to sooth sun burns, to massage sore muscles, and more. It’s easy to make. Dry lemon balm leaves and stems until crispy. Once the leaves are dried, add them to the carrier oil in a glass jar. I like to use amber jars. I don’t really measure for this oil. It would depend on the size of the jar. For example, I typically fill the jar or bottle about half full of leaves and then add the oil. I like to use organic fractionated coconut oil, you can also use jojoba oil. Seal the bottle and place in a dark cabinet. Give the jar of oil a gentle shake daily and place it back in the cabinet. After three to four weeks, strain the leaves out of the oil and you are ready to use your lemon balm oil. Keep it stored in an amber bottle to help it maintain its strength. Keep in mind this is not lemon balm essential oil, that is an entirely different type of oil.
Don’t Discard the Leaves
Don’t just discard the teas leaves or those soaked in oil! I use teas leaves that have reached or exceeded their shelf life as a weak tea to water my herbs, house plants, ferns, garden plants, herbs, and flowering shrubs. They’re great to add to the soil near squash and zucchini plants in the garden. Herbs are filled with rich antioxidants that are as good for the soil and plants as they are for us. Older teas and dried herbs can be added to the compost for enrichment.
Research to Read
Lemon balm is a versatile herb that is even recognized by The Cleveland Clinic as a herb that can be used medically This is a very interesting read!
I hope you took time to read the article. It’s actually quite amazing as most medical personnel do not give credit to the medicinal power of plants.
I hope you have enjoyed this post about one of my favorite herbs and a little update from our homestead. Feel free to leave comments, like, share, subscribe, or follow Also, head over to Apple podcast and listen to my podcast, Homesteading in the Mountains, for more tips, ideas, and information about homesteading and more. Have a blessed week! For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky! Happy homesteading!
Good morning from the mountains of Kentucky. The sunshine has been a welcome sight this week. The heat has been extreme but I’m not going to complain. I’m glad it’s not raining! The heat presents a challenge with collecting herbs from the garden. Herbs should be pruned in the cool of the morning, and this week the mornings are still quite warm. But today, it’s tolerable and I’m anxious to spend a little time amongst the herbs I love so good. I enjoy cooking with herbs, making teas, baking with dried herbs, making oils, ointments, and using them medicinally. They’re also beautiful in bloom!
Come and take a walk with me in our herb garden. We have herb beds, potted herbs, and herbs in the garden. Let’s start with lavender! The lavender that’s harvested today will be dried for tea and some of the blooms will be used to make lavender butter. Vegan Lavender Butter: A Sweet Herbal Treat From the Mountains… one of our favorites on homemade bread and great on pancakes. This butter can be made with plant butter as the recipe explains or regular dairy butter. I like the dairy free butter and my husband prefers dairy butter. It’s great either way! To make lavender tea. I dry the blooms and leaves and store in glass jars to later be steeped into a delicious tea. My Top Ten Herbs (Part Four Lavender) sew
Pots of common lavenderPots of Spanish lavender Common lavender plants in theherb bed. Also shown is rosemary, oregano, and sage.
Rosemary is one of our family’s favorite herbs. I like to dry rosemary to make rosemary salt, spray for my hair, dried stems for a savory addition to meats, and sprigs for bath water. The rosemary that is harvested today will be used to make rosemary spray for my hair. My Top Ten Herbs (Part Six; Rosemary Recipes included)
Potted rosemaryRosemary and lavender in early spring.
Rosemary is an aromatic herb that is a versatile herb we use for a wide-variety of things from cooking to spray for linens. I also like to add a few sprigs of rosemary to my bath water. In the following link I give more useful information about this wonderful aromatic herb. My Top Ten Herbs (Part Six; Rosemary Recipes included)
Orange mint used for hot and cold teas
The orange mint I harvest today will be used for teas. This aromatic herb makes a delicious cold or hot tea. To dry the mint, I clean the cut leaves, pat dry with a towel, and allow to air dry until crispy. The dried leaves are then stored in a glass jar in the pantry. I always label and date the lid for quick identification and freshness. Dried herbs typically last two to three years in the pantry. Once the date has exhausted, I like to make a weak tea to water plants with and then compost the leaves. I think you’ll love this fresh tasting mint.
Sage is another favorite herb of ours.
The sage that is harvested today will be dried and added to my sage jar in the spice cabinet. Fresh dried sage is delicious and there is no comparison to store bought sage! Once you’ve tried fresh sage, you will not want to go back to the sage on the store shelves. Yes, it’s a more work, but well worth it!
Oregano is grown in large quantities
My Top Ten Herbs (part five-oregano) this link will take you to a post with some valuable and useful information and oregano recipes. The oregano harvested today will also be added to our spice cabinet.
Lemon thyme with a few onion chives sharing the photo
Lemon thyme is great in desserts, in meat marinade, and it makes an attractive addition to the herb garden. The bees love its blooms… almost as much as I do. The lemon balm that is harvested today will be added to our spice cabinet to use when baking lemon brownies, scones, and added to teas.
Potted basil! Basil is a favorite of all our family.
My Top Ten Herbs ( Part Two Basil) basil is one of our favorite herbs. I love to add it to salads, eggs, in spaghetti sauce, pizzas, and more. The link above provides a multitude of information on the herb, how to dry it, and a few recipes. The basil I harvest today will be dried and added to our jar of dried basil for spices. I may add a few fresh leaves in our omelets this morning!
Anise
This anise is loved by the pollinators! The hummers love it as well. It also makes an excellent tea!
Chive blooms amongst the mint. More blooming sage in one of the beds.
The bees love the blooms of the anise herbs.
Echinacea in full bloom!Yarrow blooms!
Yarrow is an herb that all farms need to grow. It produces beautiful flowers and is a beneficial medicinal plant. It’s quite tasty in salads as well. My Top Ten Favorite Herbs: (Part-Seven: Yarrow)
Chives, holy basil, garlic chives, anise and bee balm. My favorite for tea!!! Chocolate mint!
More yarrow with a few sprigs of chocolate mint peeping through. Young oregano plant amongst sage. They pair well together.My favorite birdhouse that houses martins. Yarrow blooms are seen peeking out in the background.Bee balm in full bloom. Bee balm makes a great first aid ointment. Herbs cut from the walk this morning.
Other herbs that we grow that is not pictured in our walk include, tarragon, a couple of varieties of thyme, more basil, oregano, chamomile, mullein, and a few more varieties of mint. We also love to harvest from the wild around us.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our walk through the herb garden. The garden brings me joy, relaxation, a closeness to the earth, In upcoming days, I will take you on a walk through our vegetable garden. Feel free to comment, follow, or share. For now, God bless from our homestead in the mountains of Kentucky. Happy homesteading!
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky! How is the weather in your neck of the woods? It’s a bit soggy on the homestead and has been most all spring and now still soggy into the first weeks of summer. This brings me to the purpose of this post, challenged on the homestead.
Rain is one of the biggest challenges we have faced this year. As a result of the continuous rain, we are quite a bit later than usual getting all of our garden planted. We’ve had potatoes out since Good Friday. We have been eating spring onions and have finally planted the cabbage, kohlrabi, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, cantalopes, and cucumbers planted. The zucchini is blooming and the squash is coming along nicely but some of the tomato plants are struggling. We’re taking extra care with them to nurture them through the strange weather patterns to ensure we have tomatoes to eat and preserve.
With the excess rain we’ve also had numerous thunderstorms that have brought straight line winds so fierce they uprooted very large trees. Unfortunately, the largest tree fell across our driveway one tree ended up across the driveway and fell into our potatoes. We were blessed it wasn’t a tree that fell on our house. But, it sure wreaked havoc on the potatoes. Now weeks after the tree fell and the branches and limbs have been cleared away, the potatoes vines have all greened back out. We’ll see how potatoes beneath ground endured the damage when we dig them in the fall.
Rain has also caused quite a bit of flooding, which has resulted in the creek banks washing out. To help anymore erosion, we’ve planted a weeping willow tree, which roots deep, which should help protect the bank from further damage.
The abundance of rain turned a small stream to a river! Building up a retainer wall to help guide the runoff water to the creek.
With all the rain, ditching to prevent flooding has been more frequent than most years. The mowing has been a challenge this year as well. It feels like a never-ending job of mowing and weeding on days it’s not raining. Dry days are filled with diligent work mowing, weed eating, and weeding in the garden. Rain and wind has created most of the challenges for us this year, but along with the tremendous amount of rain, we have had to baby plants to prevent them from rotting in the ground. It feels strange to not be picking vegetables this time of the year.
The weather has created a challenge with our chickens as well. They do not like to get out to pick in the green grass when it’s raining. With the lower picking and sunning also comes a decrease in eggs. This leads to more laying mash, handpicking greens for them between rain showers, and providing them ground oyster shells to keep them healthy and maintain egg production.
Once the unusual amount of rain subsided, the challenges of heat arrived with a vengeance. We were able to fence the cucumbers, finish the second raised strawberry bed, and plant six long rows of beans and more peppers before the extreme heat arrived. As the heat index rose, we’ve had to decrease the amount of time spent planting, hoeing, and tilling. That work has been replaced by late evening watering the garden by hand. With temperatures up to 96 and the heat index even higher, it’s taking a toll on our beans. But I think they will survive. It has truly been a roller coaster of unusual extreme weather. Finally, the heat index lowered and it looked like rain was in the forecast again. We were able to get twelve rows of corn planted minutes before the rain arrived again. With the late corn, we have hopes that maybe we have missed the majority of the storms that include wind that often damages our corn. We are hopeful we’ve endured the majority of the storms this season and our corn will grow free from wind damage.
We faced the challenge of losing one of our mommy bunnies this season. It was sad as she was a favorite. But, on a happier note another mommy bunny gave birth to ten more baby bunnies with eight of them still thriving. We also lost two of our best laying hens, but gained twenty two doodles. The Lord has a way of easing the loss with the gain and miracle of new life. Just when I was ready to replace our precious barn cat, Harry, who we lost in September, with an adopted cat from the pound, a new feline showed up one evening. He was desperate need of a home. He is now a happy and healthy kitty on our homestead who loved doing his part by catching ground squirrels who quickly can become pests in the garden.
Meet peaches, our newest addition to the homestead. Meet owl one of the many new doodles.
The challenges of homesteading are real, but so are the victories! On the upside, the rain has helped our herbs flourish. I’ve already been drying basil and eating herbs for a few weeks. I will harvest sage, oregano, basil, lavender, a couple variety of mints, and lemon balm this week when the heat decreases. Again the rain has increased the growth in our cucumbers, squash, and zucchini and has been good for our flowers as well.
Our roses bloomed more this year than any other.Iris’s are still blooming! The flocks are loving the sunshine!The bees love our sage blooms!
With homesteading comes both challenges, rewards, failures, and success. But most of all comes the rewards of satisfaction in planting, harvesting, preserving, and eating our own food, loving the land that the Lord has provided, sharing our bounty with others, and caring for the animals that we’ve been blessed to care for are the best rewards. Homesteading rewards far outweigh the challenges, and it’s nice to remember that with challenges comes the rewards of learning and overcoming hardships.
Our garden is later than usual coming in… but we are overcoming the challenges the weather has presented this season.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this short post and enjoyed learning more about our life on the homestead. Feel free to subscribe, like, comment and share with others. For now, God bless and happy homesteading from the mountains of Kentucky.
Hello from the mountains of Kentucky! I don’t know how the weather is in your area, but it’s been really wet in Kentucky. With the amount of rain we’ve had this spring, we’ve been working more in raised beds than our vegetable garden. We did, however, get our potatoes in the ground the week of Good Friday. They’re up and beautiful! If the potatoes grow as well as the vines, we’ll have loads to dig this fall. Our onions are thriving as well, but otherwise, our garden is plowed and desolate of plants. We’re not the only local homestead or farm that hasn’t planted much, which makes me feel some better about the delay. I think this might be the rainiest spring season that I can remember. This is the year of the seventeen year cicada’s as well. Even with the rain, they’re still singing. With that being said, it has been a good time to work in our raised beds, herb beds, flower gardens, and update our garden journal.
Bee balm, hyssop, lemon thyme, garlic and onion chives, and sage.One of my herb beds. The sage is in full bloom.
I started keeping a garden journal many years ago. I was prompted to do this when we had a crop of beans that was an epic failure. When we realized the beans were tough and not easy to cook, we tried to recall the kind of beans we had planted. After much thought, scouring bean containers, and wracking our minds, we finally recalled the kind of beans we had planted. We had accidentally planted white half runners and greasy beans side by side. This resulted in the beans crossing and creating a leathery hulled type of green beans. Needless to say, we learned a valuable lesson. Don’t plant two different beans near each other and to always record what we planted, the dates we planted, fertilized, weather occurrences, etc. The wondering, worrying, and the unknown nearly drove me nuts! I had always kept a journal for my herb garden and even my flower gardens. They had proven beneficial. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought to maintain a journal for our vegetable garden. So, I extended my journal with a section devoted to our vegetable garden, and most recently added a section for our berry bushes and fruit trees. Each have proven to be a resourceful tool.
Our extended vegetable garden journal has helped with crop rotation, planting times, seed purchases, plant identification, fertilization, and with learning what crops grow well together and those that do not. Keeping our journal has also been a blessing. I like to add notes and pictures as a future keepsake for our children and grandchildren. Our journals can be a diary of our lives as homesteaders for generations to come.
Garden journal
I encourage you to begin keeping a garden journal for all your gardens. Our journal has been a blessing and a fun way to record our family traditions and way of life between the covers of a simple journal that can be handed down for generations to come.
For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky! I welcome comments! Feel free to like, share, and follow. Also, feel free to check out our podcast, Homesteading in the Mountains, on Apple Podcasts. Coming soon… a post of the benefits of red clover!
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky. Snow still covers the ground on the homestead. While it has melted in a lot of places, it lingers here. Our farm lies down between two mountains resulting in us being behind the north side of the mountain. Our farm is located in what Appalachian people call a holler! We don’t mind it… I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Our homestead is the property in the end of the holler. No one above us, in front of us, or behind us. We love the privacy and lack of a of seeing traffic passing by. We have one neighbor who can see the lower end of our land, which helps with insurance and to keep an eye on our property if we’re gone. All that being said, I am excited to bring a new recipe that is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan it can easily be changed to non-vegan as well.
I was challenged with creating a dessert for our daughter’s birthday, that our youngest grandson could eat. He has recently become gluten and dairy intolerant. He tested negative for celiac disease and allergy tests are scheduled to help diagnose the problem. Until an official medical diagnosis is made, we’ve strived to remove both dairy and gluten from his diet, as this is what seemed to give him the most trouble. Our efforts seem to be working. We also discovered while on this gluten free journey that many spices contain gluten. I have used organic spices for years and was happy to learn that the majority of organic spices are gluten free. However, we must always read the labels to be for sure. With all that being said, I am excited as we move forward to post gluten free recipes that are also dairy free and vegan in upcoming posts. Here we go with a first, which was a huge success! Carrot Cake!!!
Cake Ingredients:
Egg substitute equaling 4 eggs ( I like just egg)
1 1/2 cups of organic cane sugar
2/3 cup of organic light brown sugar
2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
1 cup of melted organic unrefined coconut oil
1/2 cup of sweetened almond milk with a tsp of organic white vinegar (you may sub for buttermilk if not following a plant based diet)
1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple in pure juice no sugar added
2 tbs of pineapple juice from pineapples
2 1/4 cup of gluten free King Arthur’s organic flour (may sub for all purpose flour)
1 1/2 tsp good quality non caking baking powder
1 tsp non caking baking soda
1 tsp organic cinnamon
1/4 tsp organic ginger
1/4 tsp of organic nutmeg
1/2 tsp non caking salt (I like pink Himalayan)
2 1/2 cups finely grated organic carrots
1/2 cup organic pecans finely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup choice organic raisins (optional) I like dark raisins but you may use golden
Frosting Ingredients:
3 cups sifted organic confection sugar
1 stick (equals 1/2 cup) of Country Crock plant butter
8 ounces of organic plant based cream cheese (I like the Simple Truth brand)
Ingredients can be substituted for non-vegan cake.
Process:
Preheat oven to 350, spray and line a 13×9 glass baking pan with unbleached parchment paper. Mix vinegar into milk and set aside. Mix sugar, eggs or egg substitute, oil, vanilla, pineapples, milk, and juice. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients and then fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the carrots, pecans, and raisins. Gently stir and when well mixed pour into the prepped cake pan.
Gently tap the pan of batter on the counter top to decrease air bubbles. Bake on the middle rack. Bake for forty minutes. Due to difference in oven temperatures test at 30 minutes with a skewer for doneness. If the skewer comes out clean, the cake is done. If the cake is not ready, return to oven and check again at 35, etc. Bake until the skewer comes out clean when resting for doneness. I baked in a Pyrex glass baking pan, which is thicker. My cake was done at 42 minutes.
Unfrosted cake
When the cake is baked, set it on a cooling rack. Wait until cake is completely cool before frosting. While the cake is cooling, make the frosting.
Process:
Mix room temperature plant-based butter, room temperature plant-based cream cheese, and three sifted cups of confection sugar on slow in a stand mixer. Once the sugar is incorporated, speed the mixer up to create a fluffier frosting.
Frosting is ready for the cake!
When the cake is completely cooled, using a rubber spatula, frost the cake. (Optional) Sprinkle chopped pecans over the top.
Top of frosted cake. I didn’t add pecans to the top.
I was amazed how creamy the frosting turned out. It is smooth, creamy, and tart enough to be delicious. The frosting didn’t have a phony taste like store bought frosting often has. I couldn’t wait to taste the cake after it was frosted. I actually didn’t wait until our daughter’s birthday dinner. I tasted the corner of the cake and was super happy with the results! I explained to her why a tiny little piece was missing from one of the corners. She understood and said she would’ve done the same.
Plant-based gluten free carrot cake.
The cake was a success! Everyone enjoyed it and loved the addition of the raisins. I had additional chopped pecans for those that wanted to add nuts to the top of their cake. The moisture level was off the charts! Had I not told everyone the cake was non dairy, plant-based, organic, and gluten free, they would have never known. Eating healthy doesn’t mean that you have to scrimp on taste.
I hope you and your family enjoy this cake as much as our family has. It is a great sweet treat for evening coffee, after dinner dessert, or even a breakfast treat. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky. Feel free to like, share, subscribe or comment. If you’re enjoying our recipes and adventures in homesteading, go check out our podcast, Homesteading in the Mountains on Apple Podcasts. Have a wonderful week and weekend!
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky. The leaves have fallen, the mountains are bare, now void of their glorious fall attire. I tend to get a bit emotional this time of year as the vibrant colors of summer and fall disappear. This year more so than ever before. I have fallen into the yearly routine of Christmas shopping for our family, preparing to end another semester, while preparing for a new one. Life has been hectic, which helps me deal with the many emotions that flood my mind and fill my heart. I have found that a little quiet time with Jesus, a good cup of chamomile tea, and a spiritual read helps calm my racing mind and allows peace and precious memories to ease the pain.
Even still a busy week faces us on the homestead. It will be busy both inside and outside our home. As I prepare for our Thanksgiving dinner with family, I find myself reflecting on the empty spot in my life. I find myself missing my mom more each day. I look around my home and I see small reminders of her everywhere. From her delicate teacup that I cherish, to her favorite lamps that now adorn my nightstand and fireplace. From her favorite blanket, to her beloved Afghan. From the plant sent from friends in her remembrance, to her favored china cabinet that holds her favorite dishes, now in my living room. From her Bible on my shelf, to the handwritten notes she journaled daily. From the pictures she left behind, to her smile in the memories I will forever cherish in my heart. However hard it is to deal with loss, just as the peace lilly thrives and blooms, so must we.
My peace lilly a friend bought me after mom passed.
As the cold weather approaches, we are also busying ourself outside with cutting the last of the lavender, to be used in homemade body butter, as sachets, for tea, and for lavender cookies. Vegan Lavender Butter: A Sweet Herbal Treat From the Mountains… Extra sprigs of rosemary are cut for rosemary oil, cooking, and for shampoos. We are zipping up the covers on the raised herb beds to ensure the lavender, rosemary, and other perennial herbs last as long as possible this winter, while also ensuring their return next year. We had hoped to leave the ferns on the porch through Thanksgiving, but bitter cold temperatures are on the horizon, so they will make their usual journey to the basement for their winter stay. The ferns do well in the basement through the winter. I water them a little about once a month and bring them out in the spring. I usually give them a quick trim, and before long they are thriving and full of life.
Three year old fern thriving has been weathered over each winterthriving in the summer heat.
With my mind occupied with memories with our mom, I find it difficult to grasp just how quickly time passes. I feel as though we were planting a garden a short time ago. It seems as only a couple months ago we were taking down Christmas decorations, and now here we are preparing to put the Christmas tree up. Where does the time go? In the Bible, life is compared to a vapor on water. It’s true. Life has a way of vanishing right before our eyes. As I pondered the gift of time, the Lord impressed upon my heart that time was a mystery to His children. I was reminded that His time is not our time and our time is not His time. I know He has a plan for our future and His plan is perfect and we must trust His time, not our own. Sometimes we find ourselves trying to perfect His plan due to lack of understanding. My prayer is to acknowledge His plans, trust His Will, press forward, embrace each day, love deeply, reflect on the wonderful memories of my mom that I cherish in my heart, and live each day embracing life as my mom would want me to, for I know He has a plan. We must keep pressing forward.
As I am preparing the dough for our weekly bread, I find myself reflecting on days gone by when I helped my mom bake cookies for Christmas. I think I was five years old when we baked cookies for everyone, or so it seemed to a wide eyed five year old with visions of Christmas morning growing closer. Mommy always had a way of making the holidays special every year. As the years passed and our mother aged, she wasn’t able to cook and host big dinners any longer. Then a new tradition was birthed. She would take turns going from one siblings house to the other on Thanksgiving. It was a full day for her, but one that allowed her spend time with each of her children and their family. The day came when she was no longer able to drive and visit as much as she wanted to or had before. It was time, yet again, for a new tradition that lasted for more almost ten years. We would take Thanksgiving to her. She never went without, my sister, brother, and myself always brought her a smorgasbord of food from each of our dinners. We would visit and usually have a cup of coffee and reminisce with her while she ate her fill of her favorites. She always had had enough leftovers to last over the course of the next week. I laugh as I recall how she would run out of desserts first. She definitely had a sweet tooth.
Yes, Thanksgiving will be different this year. I will miss her as I prepare the dishes, adding extra love to ensure the sweet potato casserole is prepared just the way she liked it. As I scour my recipe books for a new and tasty dessert that she would have enjoyed. I will miss going to visit her. It will not be same not enjoying a cup of coffee while she enjoyed the dressing and the dark meat from the turkey. Dessert will not taste the same knowing she will not share it with me. But, just as the working of the dough brings life to the yeast, so must we keep working and looking up to Him. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: Homemade Crusty Vegan Bread He is our high tower, or refuge, and our all.
The beginning stage of the dough. Stage two rising.The finished product; seeded crusty artisan bread.
Even though the loss and void in my heart are vast, I am thankful thatour mom is no longer sick. I have the confidence knowing that she made it home to be with Jesus, and that we will see her again where we will live for eternity in Heaven where sickness does not exist. Even still, my heart aches for her each day. For now, I’ll cherish the memories of days gone by and keep working for the days to come. They say that time takes care of the pain. I haven’t found that to be true yet. But, I do know that my time is not God’s time and His timing is perfect, just as His plan for us is perfect.
In memory of our mom. Artist credit goes to my niece, Sabrina Smith.
God bless from the Mountains of Kentucky. This post is dedicated to the memory of our precious mother. We love and miss you, mommy. I pray that each of you have a wonderful and memorable Thanksgiving.
Hello from the mountains of Kentucky! Fall has arrived and with fall, comes cooler temperatures at night and in the mornings. With fall also comes a beautiful array of colorful leaves, mountain sceneries, and fall flowers. The beauty of our mountains is better experienced than described. Come along with me as I take you on a photographic journey through the mountains.
Taken while traveling to see our granddaughter.
I enjoy the drive and the scenery along the curvy mountain roads as we travel deeper into the southern Appalachian Mountains to visit one of our granddaughters.
The deeper south… the bigger the mountains. Another view of Pine Mountain. Traveling deeper south.
The deeper we travel in the mountains, the more amazed I am with each mile. God’s hand and miracles abound everywhere. The picture above is a view of Pine Mountain. The view is stunning in all seasons.
Brilliant red leaves on the homestead.
A glimpse of some of the beautiful colors in our own yard. Beauty abounds everywhere in the mountains in the fall.
Fall blooms!Kentucky’s famous Cumberland Falls during mid fall. Photo Credit Marvin Meyers.Another view of Cumberland Falls. Photo credit Liz Hubbard.
Cumberland Falls is a state park that boasts of its beautiful natural water fall, hiking trails, hidden caves, a gift shop and picnic area. It is located near a beautiful Inn where great food and lodging are available. The Falls are famous also for the moon bow. The bow appears at night certain times of the year.
Laurel Lake Photo credit Denva Hoskins.
Laurel lake is a great place to fish, ride boats, relax on a pontoon, or ride jets across the water. It’s a common tourist attraction that brings people from far and near.
University of the Cumberlands. The campus is beautiful year around.
University of the Cumberlands is a private college that is nestled in the southern region of the state. Students from all over the world attend college here. The campus is beautiful regardless of the season.
View from the top of the mountains! Ride the trails and the scenery is gorgeous! Another beautiful view of the mountains.
Whether you ride a mountain trail or country road, or stop along the side of the road to enjoy the beauty, the view is breathing!
The backroads in the mountains.Beautiful fall colors from our driveway.Even the streams (creeks as we call them) are beautiful this time of year.
Creeks as we call them are staple for our homestead. We use it to water the garden, water the animals, and the grandkids love to play in the water. In the picture above it appears very small. However, when it rains a lot, it gets quite rapid. On the south side of the creek, there’s a hole deep enough and wide enough for the kids swim and fish in.
A glimpse from of the mountain tops behind our home.My drive home!
Whether you going or coming, the Kentucky mountains are beautiful during the fall season. I hope you have enjoyed God’s beautiful country in this small photographic journey through the Kentucky mountains. God bless! Feel free to like, subscribe, or comment.
Good morning, from the mountains of Kentucky. I hope you are having a wonderful day wherever you are. I am writing this morning from what has been my view for the past three weeks, the hospital. I may have mentioned in previous posts that my elderly mom was admitted to the hospital in July. She came in with multiple lingering complications, and a few new ones. She is eighty-six and a fighter, and a prayer warrior. Faith has been a part of what has carried her through the rough times of her life. I have learned much through staying with her during this extended three week stay.
ER visit that started this journey.
I have learned from the view from this side of the bed that my mom is an independent lady, who currently needs more help than she’s required in the majority of her adult life. She is a fighter who needs to be encouraged to keep fighting. She is brave, yet still has moments of fear. She has faith in Christ, yet the enemy has no mercy on the elderly, and inflicts fear at times with a vengeance. It’s difficult for her to accept help, yet gives grace to others freely. She is still my mom, yet needs me more than she ever has. Yes, I have learned by watching her struggle with simple tasks that once were easy, she is still a strong lady, but still needs assistance, compassion, understanding, patience, and encouragement.
Returning from a procedure to remove fluid from her lungs.
I have also learned from the view from this side that it takes a large village of professionals to care for a small frail lady. Skilled surgeons made critical repairs, while anastheoligists held my mom’s life in their hands. Compassionate nurses have held my mom’s hand, adminsitered meds, and cared for her with tender voices that soothed and comforted her, to techs that bathed and dressed her with dignity and gentleness. Radiologists that found veins through ultra-sonic views when the RN could not find a vein, to the physical therapy teams who have helped her to her feet, and are teaching her to walk again. Pulmonologists who removed excessive fluid from her lungs, helping her to breathe, while we patiently waited and breathe freely. I’ve learned to not take the simple things such as the ability to brush my hair, teeth, or feed myself so casually. These simple tasks are important… when these skills are stagnant, one feels helpless.
I learned and observed case management teams who shuffle appointments, referrals and deal with the headaches, red tape, and the hoops that insurance companies can the hurdles the companies create for the patients and family. I have witnessed this team make the patients and families lives a bit easier by handling all the minute details. I’ve experienced Chaplins who pray compassionate prayers and prayers of faith with the patients and the family. My view is filled with the wonderful people you meet along the way while you, the family member, does just what you are do… wait patiently for news and updates while supporting our family member who is on the opposite side of the view.
I have encountered countless physicians who explained diagnosis after diagnosis, procedures, expectations, and prognosis with a plan for the future, while gently encouraging my mom that God is always in control. While the teams of cooks prepare her food, maintenance ensures a clean room. Receptionists who guide, assist, and answer questions to offering a friendly smile. Coffee shop baristas that make that perfect cup of coffee, to the volunteers who bring snacks, prayer clothes, and offer a heartfelt prayer. From my view this was only a few of the many individuals who have whom I have met on this extended journey, and whom have worked so diligently to helping my mom make recover. I have leaned that there are many more pieces to this medicinal puzzle, too many to list one by one.
Having an x-ray in the room.
The view from my side looks much different than the view from her side. While I see the team of professionals working to provide the care she needs, my mom views them as annoying at times, blessings at others, familiar faces, and sometimes uncertain faces behind protective masks. I see the reality of fragile lives hanging in the balance. While some are hearing annoying bells and alarms, professionals are hearing urgent calls that a patient is in trouble. While she naps periodically throughout the day… I wonder what the future holds. Yes, the view from my side sees many individual diverse pieces to a puzzle that fits strategically into a position that is unique to his or her talent all working to toward the same purpose to help others heal and recover… and to comfort and support those of us who wait patiently on this side.
Eating breakfast in the hospital cafeteria while she has PT.
I felt the need to share this part of my heart with you today. I will leave you with the following; don’t take life for granted. One day my mom was doing laundry like any other day and the next day fighting for her life in ER. God has a purpose and a plan, we just have to trust him. Life is fragile and every day is a gift. When we are strong we are still weak. We can’t do everything by ourselves, and it’s okay to accept the help of others. Be kind and considerate as we do not know other’s stories or what they are going through. Smiles are free and contagious. God provides strength when we feel we don’t have any left. Take life one moment at a time.
God bless, from the mountains of Kentucky. Feel free to like, subscribe, comment, follow. As always, may the Lord bless you abundantly.
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky. I hope this post finds you well and blessed. It’s a busy time in the mountains! Homesteading is a way of life with great rewards, but also a lot of hard work! We spent most of the day Friday picking beans before the rain moved in. Our house was filled with the wonderful summer aroma of green beans simmering on the stove! While we worked to string and break beans to can. See the link below for our canning recipe. Canning Green Beans the Time-Tested Way However, it’s never too busy to take time to go to church for Friday’s hour of prayer and Bible study. Our topic was very interesting. Do you trust God? The study/conversation was filled with testimonies, scriptures, advice, and wonderful fellowship. It was a great reminder of how much we truly need to trust God, especially in the uncertain times that we are living in.
The first of what we anticipate to be many jars canned!
Friday was also a day for baking. When you have an abundance of zucchini, you flash freeze them and transfer the frozen zucchini to a bag to use for frying later, shred them for winter zucchini bread, make pancakes for the freezer, fry tasty fritters to vacuum seal, and batter fry a few to have with supper. Again, it’s a busy time in the mountains. I can’t complain. It’s one of my favorite times of the year. We are richly blessed to live in the mountains, have land that allows us to garden and have fresh vegetables to enjoy all summer, and an abundant crop to put away for winter.
I didn’t get a picture of the entire loaf before a chunk was already eaten!
Homesteading for us is a healthier way of life. Not everyone in our family follows a plant-based diet, but that doesn’t mean they do not enjoy some of the delicious plant-based dishes or work toward improving their health. A lot of people are prone to think of plant-based or vegan food as bland, dull, and tasteless. But, this zucchini bread is far from that. Our entire family loves it, even those who don’t follow a plant-based diet. I think you’ll enjoy this bread recipe as well. It is moist, sweet, and delicious.
Ingredients:
Line a mixing bowl with cheese cloth or unbleached paper towel. Shred two small or one large zucchini using a fine hand grater into the lined bowl, or two cup measuring cup. Squeeze the liquid from the zucchini. It should equal a cup or a cup and half after the liquid is squeezed out.
1 to 1 & 1/2 cups of shredded zucchini
1 1/2 cup of all purpose unbleached flour (I prefer King Arthur)
1/2 cup organic light brown sugar
1/2 cup organic white sugar
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp non-caking organic baking soda
1/2 tsp organic baking powder
1-2 tbs organic cinnamon (I usually use two)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1//4 cup organic coconut oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs of unsweetened almond milk
1 tbs pure maple syrup
1-2 tbs chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350. Line loaf pan with unbleached parchment paper. I like to use a cast iron loaf pan. Give the parchment paper a quick spray with organic cooking spray. Mix dry ingredients, other than pecans, add wet ingredients including the shredded zucchini. Do not add the maple syrup or the milk yet. Mix gently. The batter will be thick. Add milk to create a smoother mix that will pour into the pan. You can use more milk if needed. Pour mixture in lined pan, sprinkle the chopped pecans or nut of choice over the top of the mix then drizzle the maple syrup over the top. I like to bake my bread on the middle rack to prevent the bottom from becoming too brown. Set the timer and bake for 50-55 minutes. Ovens will vary and the thickness of your pan can also determine the baking time. For the cast iron loaf pan, 55 minutes is required.
Remove the bread from the oven. I test the bread for doneness with a wooden screwer. If the tester comes out clean, the bread is baked through. Place the pan of bread on a cooling rack. Allow to cool for at least ten to fifteen minutes and lift the loaf out by the parchment paper and place back on the rack to cool. I allow mine to cool about fifteen more minutes and then cover with a clean dish towel to cool an additional thirty minutes before slicing. A bread knife works best for slicing.
This bread is great as a moist treat, or toasted and lightly buttered. For vegetarians, this bread is great dipped in whipped milk and eggs or egg whites, then fried on the griddle for a tasty French toast served with maple syrup. I like to slice the bread and vacuum seal individual slices to go in the freezer for a sweet treat when you don’t have time or don’t want to bake an entire loaf. The possibilities are endless. I hope your family enjoys this bread as much as our family does.
Monday was spent rescuing our corn after rain and wind damage. While one held the corn and the other hoed and heaped fresh mounds of dirt around the base of the stalks. It was a laboring job, but one that had to be done. Fourteen rows of corn was wearing to the ground from excess rain and wind. A lot of hard work, but after a day of two of some sunshine, it is now standing tall. I think we may have lost four stalks. God is good.
I am also excited to bring to you a new recipe for banana-peach bread! Oh my, it is delicious! If you love a good peach cobbler, I think you’ll like this bread! Stay tuned, and watch for this delicious recipe!
I will add this recipe soon! Banana – peach bread!
I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as our family does. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky where homesteading is a way of life. Feel free to comment, like, share, subscribe, and or follow.
A Healthier Me...Homesteading Simple & Clean 